Moonlit Path: Disloyal Hearts
by Chocolatedog
Summary: It was the perfect name, her mother said. But it wasn't. Rated T ONLY for battles and deaths - it's no worse than the official books.
1. Prologue

**SkyClan **

**Leader-** **Brackenstar**- Golden tom with white tail tip

**Deputy-** **Rainbreeze-** Pale gray tom

**Medicine Cat-** **Twigpelt—**Dark brown tom

**Warriors-** **Scareye**—Very light brown tom with a scar over one eye and dark brown feet and tail

**Mothstep**-Beautiful tortoiseshell she-cat  
**Apprentice, Lilypaw**

**Logfur-** Dark brown tabby tom

**Whitetooth**-Huge black-and-white tom with blue eyes

**Jumpfoot-** Black tom

**Berrydapple— **Lean tortoiseshell she-cat

**Branchtail**—Very light brown she-cat with a dark brown tail and green eyes

**Ringtail- **Slender almost-white gray cat with black rings on her tail.  
**Apprentice, Palepaw**

**Crimsonpelt**- Red-brown tom

**Brighteyes**—Pale golden she-cat with bright blue eyes

**Lightningfur—**Light ginger tom

**Gingertail**- Ginger she-cat

**Gorsepelt**-Long-pelted gray tom  
**Apprentice, Wingpaw**

**Apprentices- Wingpaw—**Light gray she-cat with white paws, throat, and tail tip

**Lilypaw-** Thick-pelted silver she-cat

**Palepaw**—Gray she-cat with white forelegs and tail

**Queens-** **Mistblossom**- Beautiful silver queen with blue eyes (Expecting Lightningfur's kits)

**Elders-** **Burnclaw**- Dark red tom with yellow eyes

**Tansywhisker**- Dark gray she-cat with green eyes

* * *

**ThunderClan**

**Leader- Patchstar**—White-and-brown tom

**Deputy- Mallowtail**- Black tom with white forepaw

**Medicine Cat- Thornflower— **Brown-and-white she-cat

**Warriors- Oddeye- **Black tom with one blue eye and one brown eye (former rogue)

**Finchsong-** Golden she-cat with amber eyes

**Goldenflame-** Golden tom  
**Apprentice, Shrewpaw**

**Morninglight—**Golden she-cat with pale green eyes

**Deerpelt-** Brown she-cat with black markings

**Bushpelt—**Thick-pelted brown tom  
**Apprentice, Sandypaw**

**Waspstrike**- White tom with gray patches

**Leopardclaw- **Tabby-and-white tom

**Queens- Larchfur-** Gray tabby (Kits: Hollykit and Dawnkit)

**Elders- Tigerstripe**- Tabby she-cat

* * *

**ShadowClan**

**Leader- Palestar- **Cream-colored tom with green eyes

**Deputy- Frogleap**- Brown and cream tom

**Apprentice, Poppypaw**

**Medicine Cat- Poolsplash-** Gray she-cat with white patches and green eyes

**Warriors- Milkwhisker—**Cream and white tom

**Marshpelt-** Mottled brown tom

**Aldertooth-** Black-and-white tom

**Brightflash- **Golden tabby she-cat with amber eyes  
**Apprentice, Stripepaw**

**Graypelt- **Gray tom with bright green eyes

**Grasspool—**White she-cat with brown ears and blue eyes

**Queens-** **Dovestep-** Green eyed silver tabby she-cat

**Elders- Cinderflame- **Black-and-white she-cat with bright amber eyes

* * *

**RiverClan**

**Leader- Lichenstar—**Gray tabby tom

**Deputy- Fishsplash—**White she-cat

**Medicine Cat- Shineheart- **Golden she-cat

**Warriors- Carpfin- **White tom with light brown tail and front paws

**Apprentice, Amberpaw**

**Nutpelt- **Brown she-cat with a torn ear  
**Apprentice, Cricketpaw**

**Pigeonwing—**Gray tabby she-cat

**Birdheart **— Pale gray she-cat

******Ravenfur-** Black tom with silver markings and pale blue eyes

**Blueshade—**Blue-gray tom

**Frostblossom-** Gray-and-white patched she-cat  
**Apprentice, Hornetpaw**

**Shiningfur-** Glossy-furred silver she-cat

**Queens- Cloverfur-** Gray she-cat with white flecks(Kits: Dropletkit and Cloudykit)

**Elders- Firefur—**Ginger tom

* * *

**WindClan**

**Leader- Pebblestar-** White and grey tom

**Deputy- Pheasantwing—**Mottled she-cat

**Medicine Cat- Elmbark—**Gray tom with blue eyes

**Warriors- Mousestep-** Light brown she-cat with amber eyes

**Redfoot-** Reddish brown she-cat with yellow eyes  
**Apprentice, Fieldpaw**

**Fangstrike- **Black tom

**Gustclaw-** Dark gray tabby she-cat

**Daisypetal- **White and golden she-cat  
**Apprentice, Morningpaw**

**Quickclaw- **Dark brown tabby tom

**Watersplash**—Pale brown she-cat with darker patches

**Queens-** **Rabbitfur**—Brown tabby she-cat (expecting Fangstrike's kits)

**Featherstep**—White she-cat (Kit: Dustkit)

**Elders-** **Eggfoot—**Dark cream tom

* * *

**Prologue**

"She's beautiful!" said the silver queen

"…Yes," answered a brown tom.

"'_Yes_'? Is that _all_?"

The tom snorted. "I'm sorry, I really meant this: Oh, Mistblossom! She is the most _beautiful_ kit ever! Almost half as beautiful as _you_ are! You are the most _wonderful_ cat SkyClan has ever been _graced_ with! In fact, you're the most wonderful can ever to walk the forest! No, the world! Your beauty is—"

"_Don't_ mock me, Twigpelt."

Twigpelt glared at the she-cat but didn't reply. He gazed silently at the tiny silver kit—so much like her mother. His thoughts were interrupted by a cold mew. "What is it?"

"StarClan has quite a path for this little one." Twigpelt instantly regretted saying anything at all.

"I knew it! I knew it! Tell me, Twigpelt. What is her destiny?"

"How am _I_ supposed to know?"

"You're a medicine cat! It's your _job_ to know!"

"I just told you everything I know."

"Well, we've already established that you're not very knowledgeable, haven't we?"

Twigpelt spat.

"She's going to be a leader," Mistblossom said, as if she had just said, 'It's going to rain.'

"You don't know that," Twigpelt said. "She might be just a deputy, even the mother of a leader—or a medicine cat."

"StarClan forbid! _You'd_ have to be her mentor. And she could never have a mate!"

"And we all know how nice _that_ is, eh, Mistblossom?"

"It's really none of your business. However, it is _my _business to know my own daughter's destiny."

"Not really," Twigpelt said, an edge to his voice. "It's _her_ destiny, not yours—or mine."

"You just don't want to tell me. Just because you _hate_ me."

"There has to be one tom in the forest who doesn't like you."

"You're changing the subject. She's going to be a leader, and you know it."

"She's less than a day old. Can you really expect me to know her full destiny? She might be a leader, but then again—"

"She's going to get her nine lives at the Moonstone and all the other Clans will respect her and she's going to have the perfect name to fit her future."

"What? Perfectkit?" Twigpelt said sarcastically.

Mistblossom rolled her eyes and told him the name.

"No!" Twigpelt gasped. "That's a disrespect to StarClan!"

"The warrior code doesn't forbid _names_!"

"You'll regret this choice. You'll be thought poorly of by all the Clans—_she'll_ be thought poorly of by all the Clans. You can't do that to her!"

"And _you_ can't stop me. It's the perfect name!"


	2. Chapter One

"Moonkit!"

"Mother?"

"Your sisters are here to see you!" Mistblossom called. Moonkit ran to her mother's side. Two familiar she-cats padded forward. Both had silver fur. "Remember Lilypaw and Wingpaw?" Mistblossom prompted.

"Hi!" Moonkit bounced towards Wingpaw and sniffed her fur. "What did you do today?" the young kit demanded.

"Direct, aren't you?" Lilypaw commented.

"Huh?"

"Forget it," said Wingpaw. "Today we hunted for the elders—_and_ added some prey to the fresh-kill pile too."

"What did you catch?"

"I caught a sparrow and a squirrel," Lilypaw said.

"And I caught a mouse and two pigeons. Gorsepelt -he's my mentor- says that I'll patrol the ThunderClan border tomorrow, since I don't need to practice hunting anymore."

Moonkit's eyes widened. "You must be the best hunters in the SkyClan!"

"Their warrior ceremonies are long overdue," Mistblossom agreed.

"Our farther is the _Clan deputy_!" Wingpaw said. "He should tell the leader we're ready."

"Brackenstar says that Palepaw can't feed the elders by herself," Lilypaw huffed.

"But you've been in training for eight moons!"

"No they haven't, and you know that perfectly well," a new voice said.

"Twigpelt," Mistblossom said crisply. "It's been over seven moons, and we don't need your technicalities." Moonkit peered at the brown tom that loomed over her.

"You're Twigpelt?"

"You've heard of me?" said the cat. "All bad reports, I suppose."

"Mistblossom just said that you're a medicine cat. What do medicine cats do?"

"Stop bothering Twigpelt," said Mistblossom. "It's _high time he left_, anyways." Twigpelt narrowed his eyes and stalked off. Mistblossom's face twisted into a snarl for a moment. "Medicine cats!"

"Are they bad?" Moonkit asked.

"No!" said Lilypaw at the same time Wingpaw said, "Twigpelt is."

"Never mind him," Mistblossom said. "Lilypaw, Wingpaw, why don't you show Moonkit some hunting moves?"

"She's only a moon old," Wingpaw pointed out.

"She'll need to know for when she's a warrior."

_A warrior!_ Moonkit couldn't wait for the day when Brackenstar would bestow her full name to her.

* * *

"Hello, little one," said Tansywhisker a half moon later.

"Why do you always call me 'little one'?" asked Moonkit.

Tansywhisker exchanged a glance with Burnclaw. "Well, you're a small kit. And compared to crumbling old elders like us, you're very youthful."

Moonkit smiled at the she-cat's purr, but pressed her question. "But my name is Moonkit."

Burnclaw flinched slightly when she said her name. "We didn't know you wanted to be called that."

"You _never_ call me Moonkit."

"It's just an… unusual name, that's all," said Tansywhisker.

"Mother says that it's the most special name a cat could have."

"That may well be true," Burnclaw quietly growled.

Moonkit opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted. A ginger head popped into the den.

"Brackenstar called a Clan meeting," Lightningfur said, his eyes shining. All three of the den's occupants scrambled to their paws and headed to the Great Stump, where the Clan leader stood. Lightningfur sat next to Mistblossom and the Clan mates touched noses. Moonkit squeezed between her parents. Lightningfur flicked his tail agreeably and Mistblossom licked her ear.

"Cats of SkyClan," Brackenstar yowled. "Ringtail told me that after two moons of training her apprentice, Palepaw, is ready to take on the duties of taking care of the elders by herself. So I have gathered you here to witness the warrior ceremonies for Lilypaw and Wingpaw!" The Clan cheered. "Step forth, you two." Moonkit's half-sisters leapt onto the stump. "I call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained for moons to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turns. Lilypaw, Wingpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your lives?"

"I do," they said.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Lilypaw, from this moment you will be known as Lilypelt. StarClan honors your fighting skills and honor, and we welcome you as a full warrior of SkyClan. Wingpaw, your name shall now be Wingfoot. StarClan honors your loyalty and commitment, and we welcome you as a full warrior of SkyClan.

"Lilypelt! Wingfoot!" Mistblossom and Lightningfur yowled in unison. Mistblossom broke off her cheering to whisper in her daughter's ear.

"That will be you one day."

Eager joy spread through Moonkit. "Becoming a warrior?"

"Not only that. Work hard and you will _perform_ that ceremony yourself—as Clan leader."

* * *

Three moons had passed since Wingfoot and Lilypelt's warrior ceremony.

Moonkit was practicing battle moves in camp. She balanced her weight onto her front paws and thrust her hind legs out with a snap. But the silver kit lost her balance and she landed on her haunches with a thud.

"Too bad you don't have any den mates to practice with yet."

"Twigpelt," Moonkit spat. "What are you doing here?"

"Hostile already. You are your mother's daughter—but there's no need to be insulting, I suppose."

"It's a valid question." Mistblossom strode forward. "What _are_ you doing here?"

"Just here to check on Berrydapple." Berrydapple had moved into the nursery, expecting kits in a few days. Meanwhile, the queen's parents, Scareye and Mothstep, had retired.

"Get on with it." Mistblossom flicked her tail toward the fallen leg where the kits stayed.

"You're right—I don't have any time to lose. Things are awfully busy without an apprentice."

"Can't you ever let anything go?" Mistblossom said. Twigpelt ignored her and disappeared into the den. "Come along, Moonkit." Mistblossom headed outside of camp.

Moonkit had been out of camp several times before, but it was still exciting. They headed north, towards the RiverClan border. The greenleaf air blew above Moonkit, and she lifted her head and let the forest smells enter her nose. "Fresh kill!" she squeaked.

"Not killed yet," Mistblossom purred. "That's a thrush. Watch!" The tabby dropped into a hunting crouch and dashed forward. Soon Moonkit spotted the bird she was approaching. With a hiss, Mistblossom pounced on the creature. It gave a shrill call, but the queen expertly twisted its neck, killing it.

"Wow!"

Mistblossom picked up the bird at set it by a tree trunk. "I'll bury it so we can collect it on the way back." She started digging up earth and dead leaves. Moonkit hopped over and tore away at the hole.

"Stop it, you're getting dirty," Mistblossom said. "You'll need to learn to do it _neatly_." The tabby finished the store and stashed away the thrush.

"What's _that_ smell?"

Mistblossom tasted the air. "Shrew." Moonkit ran ahead. There was the shrew, snuffling about the leaves. Moonkit mimicked her mother's hunting moves, advancing on the animal. Then, a fox-length away, she pounced. The shrew dashed away, but after a moment of chasing, Moonkit managed to pin its tail down. She awkwardly clamped her jaws around it, and felt it finally go limp. "Your first prey!"Mistblossom curled her tail up happily. "Let's go back to camp."

When they arrived, Moonkit burst into the nursery, holding her shrew. "Berrydapple! I caught a—"

"Quiet!" Twigpelt said. "It's her kitting!"


	3. Chapter Two

Berrydapple grunted in pain. "It's okay, you're doing well. Take deep breaths," said Twigpelt. He turned to Moonkit. "You! Fetch that wet moss." He flicked his tail at it. Moonkit grabbed the soaked bedding and placed it by Berrydapple, who gratefully lapped a few drops.

"Anything else?" Moonkit asked.

Berrydapple started to shake her head, but stopped short with a growl of pain.

"The first one's coming!" Twigpelt said. "I'll help it- Moonkit, you sooth Berrdapple." Moonkit nodded and gently licked the queen's ear. "Breathe," she said. "In, out, in, out." The medicine cat flashed a look of approval to Moonkit.

"Push!" he suddenly urged the tortoiseshell. Another grunt of pain- "Good, Berrydapple!" Twigpelt licked the tiny tortoiseshell kit vigorously. Several moments later he announced, "Now the second kit. Keep calm." Moonkit licked the queen's shoulder. After what seemed like moons, Berrydapple relaxed. Twigpelt had another kit squirming by his paws. He licked away the slime on its fur and said, "Excellent. It's all over: You have a son and a daughter." Both were white with tortoiseshell patches.

"They're so cute!" said Moonkit. Now that they're fur started to dry, they looked fluffy and soft.

"You did a good job, Moonkit," said Twigpelt.

"Yes, thank you," said Berrydapple.

"You'd make a wonderful medicine cat," Twigpelt said quietly. Moonkit looked at his green eyes and was shocked to see... _grief._

"Is something wrong?"

"No," he said. "That is- well, why don't you tell Mistblossom about the kits? Mind you, she probably heard us talking about it, since she didn't come in."

"Tell Jumpfoot once he gets back from hunting, too," Berrydapple added.

"Okay," said Moonkit. But she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something the medicine cat wasn't telling her.

* * *

_So that chapter was kind of short. Oh well, I wanted to see what publishing a story chapter-by-chapter was like, anyways. It's pretty fun, so I think I'll put up the next chapter soon. Reviews are greatly appreciated!_


	4. Chapter Three

"From this day on, until she has gained her warrior name, this apprentice shall be known as Moonpaw." Berrydapple and Jumpfoot's kits, Briarkit and Thrushkit, squealed with delight. "Crimsonpelt!" Brackenstar yowled. "You have shown yourself to be a brave and loyal warrior. I entrust you to pass this on to Moonpaw." As she touched noses with her mentor, Moonpaw's family loudly cheered her name, as did the kits, but the elders remained awkwardly silent. Moonpaw turned her pale yellow eyes to Twigpelt. He too was quiet; wordlessly staring at his paws. Indignation flashed through Moonpaw. _How dare he! After I helped him so much when Briarkit and Thrushkit were born_!

"Moonpaw!" Palepaw yowled. Moonpaw hopped down the stump to meet the she-cat. "It'll be great to finally have a den mate!" Palepaw said. "Hey, what's up?"

She must've seen Moonpaw's sour look. "Look at Twigpelt. He didn't chant my name _once_! I'm his Clan mate!"

"That _is_ odd," Palepaw said.

"Just _two moons_ ago we were working beside each other, helping with Berrydapple's kitting. I'd like to see the kits who did _that_ when they were four moons old!"

Palepaw's whiskers started to twitch. "Are you saying that you're upset that the medicine cat doesn't respect you?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying!"

"Look, Moonpaw, I hate to break it to you, but there are only two other cats in the _Clan_ who are less experienced than you. You can't expect to be revered from the very start. Look at your sisters, they had to wait for ages before they could become _warriors_- they didn't complain. Well, they didn't complain _too_ much." Her whiskers twichted again.

Moonkit paused. "Well, then, I guess I'm going to have to start being worthy of respect."

"Okay, but remember, you don't have to be the best. Just serve SkyClan."

"I'll serve it like no other cat has!" Moonpaw bounded away to meet her mentor. But as she looked back, she saw the tiniest flicker of concern in Palepaw's eyes.

* * *

"Since it's already leaf-fall, we need to get your hunting skills sharpened as soon as possible," Crimsonpelt explained later that day. "I want you bringing in lots of prey by leafbare."

"I can hunt!" Moonpaw promised.

"Show me." Moonpaw dropped into a hunting crouch and advanced forward. Crimsonpelt walked up and pushed her over.

"Hey!"

"It's pretty good, but you're unbalanced. Stop leaning to the right side," Crimsonpelt said. Moonpaw tried again. "Better."

"Can I try to it on prey yet?"

"Just work on technique for now."

Moonpaw sighed and continued her practicing. Her weight kept shifting to one side or the other. Then, she smelled something tasty. Whipping around, she advanced upon a robin that had landed nearby. Then she pounced. The bird flew up, its feathers brushing her claws. The tabby lunged again, but it was too late. "I just told you to work on techique," Crimsonpelt growled. "If you had listened, I could have caught that and gave it to the Clan!"

"I'm sorry. I... I thought I could get it."

"It's alright," Crimsonpelt sighed, calming down. "But next time, listen to me! Here, let me show you the proper way to nab a robin..."

* * *

As Moonpaw entered the elder's den, Tansywhisker looked up from grooming her think gray fur. "Did you catch that mouse?"

"No," Moonpaw admitted. "Crimsonpelt did, but he asked me to give it to you."

"Thank you, dear," Mothstep said. "Want to share it, Tansywhisker?" The Tansywhisker nodded and knelt beside the tortoiseshell. The two elders gnawed away at the fresh-kill.

"I hope Palepaw comes in with more soon," Burnclaw grumbled, flexing his claws idly.

There was a pause, and Moonpaw found her voice. "Can I... ask a question?"

"Go on," said Tansywhisker.

"I just wanted to know why you didn't cheer for me this morning. At my apprentice ceremony."

Scareye sighed from across the den, and Mothstep and Tansywhisker suddenly became very preoccupied with their mouse.

Finally Burnclaw said, "It's... your name."

"What's wrong with it?"

"'Moon' has been associated with the Moonstone ever since the dawn of the Clans," he said. "When your mother named you Moonkit, it was a sign of disrespect to StarClan."

"It's not your fault she named you that," Tansywhisker quickly added.

"We just didn't feel comfortable calling your name," said Scareye. "It's nothing against you personally."

"Oh." Moonpaw flicked her tail uncomfortably.

"But," Burnclaw's eyes darkened slightly. "StarClan has been insulted. Your mother never should have picked that name." His final words were drowned out by an angry screech.

Moonpaw peered out the den to see one of the older warriors, Whitetooth, race into camp with Wingfoot and a she-cat named Gingertail.

"Kittypets!" Whitetooth announced, his black-and-white fur bristling. "Kittypets have stolen SkyClan prey!"

* * *

_Wow, writing this is fun! And I'm pleased that this chapter is so much longer than the last one. Be sure to read the next chapter- and to click that "Reveiw" button there._


	5. Chapter Four

"Kittypets?" the deputy, Rainbreeze, said. Moonpaw ran up to the crowd gathering around the returning patrol.

"We found this a couple of tree-lengths away from the border with twoleg place." Whitetooth set a light brown scrap of fur down.

Brackenstar sniffed it and pulled away in disgust. "Certainly kittypet. But are you sure it didn't just blow into SkyClan territory?"

"There was squirrel blood by it," said Gingertail. "And even a paw print stinking of twolegs."

"And mouse blood a little way away!" Lilypelt added.

Whitetooth nodded grimly. "All the blood-scent was mingled with kittypet. And this isn't the first time we smelled invaders by that border this leaf-fall."

"But it _is_ one of the only times a kittypet actually _caught_ something this season," Branchtail said.

"Rainbreeze, make sure the patrols all know to keep an eye out for kittypets- especially a light brown one. And to scent-mark the border carefully," Brackenstar said.

"Brackenstar," Twigpelt said. "Surely there's more you can do than _that_? There's some catmint growing just outside one of the fences by a twoleg nest. We can't have kittypets eating away all of it!"

"What would you _want_ me to do?"

"Tell the hunting parties to keep a lookout, too," Whitetooth suggested.

"Fine!" Brackenstar snapped. "But I want them not to forget the actual _hunting_. Prey is running out."

"We'll have more prey if we can stop these invasions," Tansywhisker said, hobbling up.

"Jumpfoot! You lead the dawn patrol. Take Ringtail, Palepaw, and Brighteyes... Where _is_ Brighteyes?" Rainbreeze said.

"Hunting. I'll tell her when she gets back."

"Good. Remember to warn her about the intruders! And try to bring back some fresh-kill."

"Mousedung," Palepaw hissed under her breathe. "I was hoping to eat some fresh prey!"

Ringtail, however, had heard her. "Don't complain," she whispered.

Moonpaw couldn't believe that there was so much trouble stirred up by one adventurous cat. How chaotic must it be when other _Clans_ invade? The branches around the camp entrance rattled, and a hunting party marched in, carrying food.

"Mother!" Moonpaw bounded up to Mistblossom, who was carrying a sparrow. She set her catch in the fresh-kill pile.

"How was training?"

"Pretty nice. I worked on stalking, and Crimsonpelt caught a mouse to show me what it was like."

"You already caught prey as a kit! I hope that Crimsonpelt knows what he's doing."

"I still need to learn, I guess."

"Perhaps. But there is something I must tell you. Grab something to eat and come into the forest with me."

Moonpaw shifted her paws uncertainly. "Shouldn't apprentices eat last?"

Mistblossom purred. "Not if a warrior tells you otherwise." So Moonpaw grabbed a vole and headed after her mother. Mistblossom led her until they couldn't even see camp anymore. "This is where Lightningfur and I always come to talk privately," she said fondly. She went into a little clearing sheltered by lush ferns.

"It's nice." Moonpaw paused. "Before you say what you wanted to... I'd like to ask why you named me Moonkit."

"Why?" Mistblossom looked surprised. "Why not? You're silver, like the moon, you're beautiful, like the moon... But I suppose there is one other reason." The she-cat settled into a comfortable position. "In fact, that's what _I_ was going to tell you about in the first place." Moonpaw pricked her ears. "The day you were born, Twigpelt said that you have a special destiny."

"Really?" Moonpaw's eyes widened.

Mistblossom nodded, smiling. "A special destiny deserves a special name, don't you think?"

"Did he say what my destiny would be?"

"No," Mistblossom said, flicking her tail irritably. "But it doesn't take a medicine cat to figure it out. I believe you're going to become Clan leader." Moonpaw, stunned, didn't reply. "After all," Mistblossom continued, "you're smart, pretty- and skilled for your age. You're fairly well-liked by your Clan mates. So train well, and you will become the greatest cat in all of SkyClan. Probably all of the Clans!"

Moonpaw blinked. She wasn't positive she believed that Twigpelt prophesied her becoming a leader. But she did believe that she _could_ lead SkyClan with a bit of luck, if she worked hard. She opened her mouth to reply, but a harsh scent flowed in. She didn't recognize it, but Mistblossom clearly did. "_Fox_!" she yowled.


	6. Chapter Five

No sooner did Mistblossom yowl the word did the mangy head of a fox appear, blocking the only exit. Screeching, Mistblossom lashed out. Her paw scored against the fox's face, but it only enraged the fierce creature. In a flash of yellowed fangs, the fox gripped Mistblossom by the neck. Moonpaw leapt forward and hit the fox's shoulder. Unbalanced, the fox let go of Moonpaw's mother- and lunged at Moonpaw, who scrambled backwards to avoid the deadly blow. Mistblossom tried to get to her feet, but as the fox pressed toward Moonpaw, it knocked the warrior back to the ground. _I'm going to be fresh-kill!_ Before Mistblossom could recover herself, the fox dove forward. Moonpaw whacked the side of its head with her paw, but it didn't stop it. Firey pain shot through her as the fox bit down. Then something pulled her tormenter away.

"Die, crowfood!" The golden she-cat buried her fangs into the red fur of the fox while clawing at its flank.

"Brighteyes!" Mistblossom said, her voice filled with relief. Then she battered the fox's other flank. The fox broke free of Brighteyes and turned to Mistblossom. Before it could strike, Moonpaw swiped at the creature's nose. It whipped around and snapped at the apprentice. It would've left a nasty scar if Brighteyes hadn't bit down on its tail just in time. The fox's head jerked back, painfully ripping out a chunk of Moonpaw's fur but not drawing blood. Mistblossom nipped at its hind legs, and with a yelp of pain the fox tore itself away and fled.

"Keep it away from camp!" Brighteyes called, streaking after it. Moonpaw raced after her, leaping over rocks and ducking under branches. Suddenly her paw hit a mouse hole and she tumbled to the ground. Brighteyes slowed as Moonpaw let out a startled meow, and the fox sped away- veering toward camp. The fox was only a short run away from camp when a flash of silver appeared. Mistblossom cut it off, hissing madly. The red-brown animal turned abruptly and disappeared into the forest. Then cats started pouring out of camp, alerted by the commotion. "Fox," Brighteyes panted. "We drove it off, but someone should make sure it leaves the territory."

"It shouldn't be too hard," Moonpaw added. "The fox was terrified."

"Are you alright?" Lightningfur dashed up to his daughter and sniffed her wound.

"The fox only just started to bite down on me when Brighteyes came."

"Regardless, you should all go to the medicine cat. We'll chase off the fox in the morning," Brackenstar said.

"Perhaps we should do it now," Rainbreeze said. "While the scent trail's fresh and the fox is already scared and tired."

Brackenstar considered the suggestion. "Very well. I'll take Whitetooth, Jumpfoot, Lilypelt, and Branchtail." The cats he called stepped forward.

"May StarClan go with you!" Scareye rasped.

Moonpaw touched noses with Lilypelt. "Good luck!"

"I'll bring you back some fox fur," Lilypelt said. Then she padded after the patrol.

"I just remembered," Brighteyes said after Brackenstar left, "I left some prey behind when I fought the fox. Some cat needs to fetch it."

"Palepaw, Wingfoot!" Rainbreeze said. "You get it." Moonpaw's den mate and half-sister dashed off.

"Come on." Twigpelt guided the hurt cats to his den. "Thank StarClan you're safe."

_StarClan_. The battle with the fox almost made Moonpaw forget what her mother had just told her. _I'm destined to become leader!_ Moonpaw gazed at the medicine cat applying cobwebs to Brighteyes. Perhaps she should ask him if he knew anything more about her destiny. Then she realized that her mother hadn't entered the den. Her blank eyes stared at nothing.

"Are you okay, Mother?"

"Hm? ...I'm fine."

"Moonpaw, it's your turn to be treated."

"Coming, Twigpelt."

* * *

Moonpaw shifted in her mossy nest. Palepaw softly snored beside her, but Moonpaw couldn't get comfortable. Finally she stood up and left. But she had gone no more than a few steps when she heard noise coming from Twigpelt's den.

"Did I wake you?" Moonpaw said. The apprentices' den was only a few fox-lengths from the medicine cat den, but she wasn't making much noise.

Thankfully, Twigpelt shook his head. "I just had trouble sleeping." Moonpaw was surprised by his calm tone, so different from his occasional crabbiness.

"Me too."

"I don't blame you. Your first night in a new den, aches from your wounds..." As his green eyes met hers, Moonpaw couldn't help wondering if he knew the other reason she stayed awake: the new knowledge of her destiny. Moonpaw considered asking him about it, but didn't want to break the night's peacefulness over a potentially touchy subject.

"Can I go for a walk?" she asked instead.

Twigpelt paused before nodding. "I think you'll be fine."

"Thank you." She padded through the quiet camp. Gorsepelt, who was guarding the entrance, didn't stop her when she walked past. Moonpaw gazed up at the stars. _I am destined for much_. She found her paws taking her to the fern shelter where she was attacked. It was hard to imagine that just that day a battle was fought in a place now so serene. But a distant call pierced the night. Curious, Moonpaw went forward, until she could recognize the voice. _Mistblossom_?

"Why?" the warrior wailed sorrowfully to the sky. "Why couldn't you do anything about it? It's your own fault you died! And now look what happened because of it!"

Scared and disturbed, Moonpaw slinked away before her mother could notice her.

* * *

_Teehee... Okay, I'd like to make an announcement: I think I'm going to change this story's title to "Moonlit Paths: Disloyal Hearts". Because "Moonlit Path" isn't that creative. Also, I might do a bit of editing as I go along, but I won't change big stuff._

_Thanks to everyone who reveiwed! :) Keep 'em coming!_


	7. Chapter Six

_ Iceflower of ThunderClan: Yes, this is before SkyClan moves. I edited the previous chapters to make that clearer. The other Clans are mentioned in this chapter, and they'll appear later._

_ Amber342: Ooh, you caught me. When I was writing Chapter Four, I thought, _"Lovely ferns" sounds weird. But no one will notice._ I'll fix it tomorrow. Thanks for all your comments!_

_Also, thank you to Hawktalon for the regular reveiws, and to everyone else who commented!_

* * *

"Nice catch!" Crimsonpelt waved his red-brown tail high in the air.

Moonpaw looked up from burying the squirrel. "Thanks!" She had been in training for a moon now, and although her hunting technique was good, prey was scarce, as leaf-fall was slowing changing to leafbare. Often hunting was more a test of her ability to find prey than to catch it. "How do you think Palepaw's assesment's going?"

"She's pobably doing fine. After all, she's been in training for a while now."

"When can I get _my_ first assesment?"

"I'll tell Rainbreeze to put you on the dawn patrol. If you do well, Brackenstar and I will see about that assesment."

"Thank you, Crimsonpelt!"

The tomcat smiled. "No problem. Now how about you start gathering bedding for the elders?"

* * *

Moonpaw lay in her nest. She had caught a rabbit and Crimsonpelt got a sparrow. Those and the squirrel were anough for the elders, but she had to clean their nests and check them for ticks afterwards. Finally she had time to rest- and, more importantly, think about the omen. Not that there was much to think about. _I really ought to get around to asking Twigpelt about it. He won't bite my ears off. Just a moon ago we had a friendly chat after I fought the fox-_ She had meant to encourage herself by the memory, but it brought back a more unwelcome one- seeing her mother wailing to the sky.

"Moonpaw!" A high-pitched mewl pierced the apprentice's thoughts.

"What do you want, Briarkit?"

"Teach me and Thrushkit how to hunt! You _said_ you'd do it!"

Moonpaw sighed. "Coming!"

Briarkit's brother was pacing around outside the nursery. "She said yes!" he cheered.

"Okay, okay! We'll start with the hunting crouch." She knelt down into position. "Pretty good, Thrushkit! But your belly is practically dragging on the ground. Briarkit, get your tail down."

But Briarkit stood up."There's Palepaw!"

Moonpaw dashed toward her friend. Naturally, the kits followed. "How'd it go?"

Palepaw's eyes shined with joy. "First I sparred with Ringtail at dawn. Then she had me show her all my battle moves. It all went fine until I did the reverse branch swing- the one where you balance on a branch, reach down, and claw. I climbed up a pine tree. My balance was weak, but I thought I could do it. Then... a pine cone fell on my head!" Moonpaw purred. "It was hilarious. But other then that, my assessment was great!"

"So you'll be a warrior now?"

"I hope so! Ringtail's talking to Brackenstar right now."

"Wow!" said Brairkit. "Did you do the leap-turn-claw thingy?"

"You bet I did! Want me to show you how it's done?"

"Yes, please!" The tortoiseshell jumped up and down.

"Me too!" said Thrushkit.

"Hey, I'll come along." Moonpaw stood up. This would probably be the last time she would get to spend with Palepaw for a while.

* * *

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Palepaw, from this moment you will be known as Paleflower. StarClan honors your loyalty and kindness, and we welcome you as a full warrior of SkyClan." Brackenstar rested his muzzle on Paleflower's gray head.

"Paleflower! Paleflower!" Moonpaw joined the cheer. Then something occured to her. Everyone_ is chanting _her_ name. _Moonpaw pushed the jealous thought away.

"Congratulations!" the silver apprentice mewed to her friend.

"Thanks!"

"Remember to get some sleep, Moonpaw," said Crimsonpelt. "Dawn patrol tomorrow!"

Moonpaw nodded. "Good night, Paleflower."

"Bye! I guess I better start my vigil soon." Paleflower flicked her tail and trotted off.

"Bye." Moonpaw padded to the empty den. _It's going to be frigid once leafbare sets in, without Paleflower._ Moonpaw buried her nose into her nest and fell asleep.

* * *

Moonpaw rubbed her flank against a tree on the ThunderClan border.

"Moonpaw! Can you recognize this scent?" Crimsonpelt challenged.

"It's an animal. Not prey or cats... is it fox?"

"Close. That's dog."

"They walk on this path all the time," Logfur growled. "It sometimes discourages ThunderClan from crossing the Twoleg path into our territory, but mostly dogs just makes it hard to patrol."

"Hear that? A Twoleg's coming," said Crimsonpelt. "Let's get going." Moonpaw easily scurried after her mentor, but Logfur was panting slightly by the time they slowed down several minutes later.

"Let's get back to a decent pace," he said. "_Some _cats aren't as young as they once were."

Crimsonpelt nodded. "This is the RiverClan border."

"I remember." Moonpaw peered at the stream. "It's not frozen yet."

"Thank StarClan!" Logfur meowed as he left a scent-marker. "Last leafbare RiverClan raided our territory because they couldn't fish. It wasn't the first time it happened, either."

The patrol continued along the border. "Twoleg place up ahead," Crimsonpelt said after a while.

Logfur sniffed the air. "Kittypet scent!" His dark brown tail twitched.

Crimsonpelt bristled. "It leads this way."

Moonpaw spotted a tail poking out from behind a yew bush. "There!" The brown-furred tom was holding a dead vole. _Brown fur! That must be the same kittypet that Whitetooth's patrol found!_ She remembered the tuft of fur he brought to camp for proof.

"Attack!" yowled Crimsonpelt. Moonpaw broke into the lead, hissing. The kittypet dashed for Twoleg place, still clutching the vole.

"That's SkyClan prey!" Moonpaw sped up. The brown tom jumped over a fence- into Twoleg place. But Moonpaw couldn't let him get away with stealing much-needed food. The SkyClan cats contined their pursuit. The kittypet glanced over his shoulder, and fear flashed in his eyes. Crimsonpelt veered to the side, cutting the foe off. The kittypet was forced to squeeze through a hole in the fence. Moonpaw was a fox-length behind him. Then she pounced, slashing his flank. Yowling, the tom dropped the prey. Crimsonpelt snatched it away as Moonpaw bit down on the kittypet's tail. He ripped it out of her grasp and swiped at the silver tabby's nose. Startled, Moonpaw jerked back and tripped, tumbling onto a hard black surface a little like a Twoleg path. _This must be a Thunderpath_! She started to run, but the kittypet lashed out again, knocking Moonpaw's paws out from under her. She collapsed- and was surrounded by a roar. A moster was hurtling towards her.


	8. Chapter Seven

Moonpaw yowled as the monster thundered towards her. "_Moonpaw_!" Logfur lunged forward, shoving the apprentice out of the way. The monster thumped on, leaving as quickly as it came. But its growl was drowned out by a screech of pain.

"Logfur!" Moonpaw's gaze turned to the brown tom's tail. It was covered in blood. "Oh, StarClan!" Moonpaw tried to nudge the older warrior to his feet.

"Here." Crimsonpelt knelt down, taking Logfur's weight on himself. Logfur staggered to his paws and maneged to get away from the thunderpath. The brown kittypet was still standing nearby.

"I-I'm so s-sorr-" he stammered.

"This is your fault!" Rage built up in Moonpaw. "Stay away from our territory!" She rushed at the kittypet, claws unshethed. He dashed away. "Oh, no you don't!"

"Moonpaw!" Crimsonpelt said. "Get over here. You carry the shrew. We're going back to camp, so _you_ run ahead and tell Twigpelt what happened."

Moonpaw wordlessly picked up the fresh-kill that the kittypet tried to steal and headed back to camp.

* * *

Jumpfoot was playing with his kits outside the nursery, but aside from that, the clearing was quiet.

"Where's Twigpelt?"

"No idea. Why do you need him?"

"Logfur was... he was hit by a monster."

"A monster!" Briarkit gasped.

"What happened to him?" Thrushkit said.

"It just hurt his tail. But it was my fault... He needs a medicine cat!"

"He's probably gathering herbs. I'll look for him with you," Jumpfoot volenteered.

Moonpaw nodded. "Thrushkit, put the shrew in the fresh-kill pile. Let's go, Jumpfoot."

"I smell his trail," said Jumpfoot once they reached the camp exit. "I remember seeing him leave. He can't be far." The black tom lead the way through the forest.

After a while, Moonpaw said,"His scent- it's fresh!" She dashed ahead and burst through the bushes.

"What's going on?" Twigpelt said.

"Logfur's tail was hit by a monster. He's heading to camp, but Crimsonpelt told me to find you."

"I'm coming."

* * *

Moonpaw paced anxiously outside the medicine cat den. She had been inside until Twigpelt said that her fretting was giving him an earache.

"Moonpaw!"

"Mother! I thought you were hunting!"

"I was. But I came back, and Briarkit told me what happened. You were very brave."

Moonpaw sighed. "Maybe, but it was all my fault. I let a stupid _kittypet_ trip me up. I fell on the Thunderpath. The only reason Logfur was hurt was that he had to save me."

Mistblossom flicked an ear but didn't say anything for a moment. "Well," she finally meowed, "Moping around camp won't do you any good. Tell Crimsonpelt that I'm taking you hunting."

* * *

When they returned to camp, Moonpaw was carrying a sparrow. She almost had a vole, but it had escaped. The sun was already low in the sky.

"I'd better take my catch to the elders."

"I'll come with," said Mistblossom. "I expect they'll want this rabbit, and it'll take more than that bird to fill them up."

Moonpaw sighed slightly. She usually wouldn't mind her mother's company, but her real reason of going was to check on Logfur. The medicine cat den was right next to the elders', but Moonpaw had a feeling that Mistblossom wouldn't want to see Twigpelt. The two she-cats dropped off the fresh-kill. Then Moonpaw casually peeked into the medicine cat den.

"Moonpaw," Logfur said.

"Logfur! Yo-you're alright!" Moonpaw was slightly taken aback- she hadn't thought about what she would actually say to the senior warrior.

"Of course he is," Twigpelt said briskly. "If he was going to keel over, he'd have done it already."

Logfur purred.

"I... I'm sorry," Moonpaw blurted out. "I shouldn't have let the kittypet knock me down. I should've let you and Crimsonpelt take care of him."

Logfur looked slightly surprised. "I don't think you did anything that poorly. Anyways, I was going to retire soon anyways."

"R-retire? You're going to become an elder?"

Twigpelt nodded. "His tail will probably not fully heal. Even if it did, by that time he probably would already be too old to stay a warrior."

"Twigpelt!" Mistblossom stepped into the den. "Are you saying that it's Moonpaw's fault that Logfur has to retire early?"

"It's not _that_ early," Logfur tried to say, but he was cut off by Twigpelt.

"No. That's not what I'm saying. Actually, the situation would be better if a medicine cat could have tended to his wound immediately. But I was out of camp, and there wasn't another cat who could help."

Moonpaw couldn't imagine how _that_ was a retort- more than anything the _words_ made it seem like Twigpelt was blaming himself. But the _way_ he said it, you would've thought he was accusing _Mistblossom,_ of all cats, of causing Logfur's retirement. Mistblossom almost seemed to take it that way. She hung her head and angrily stalked away.

But behind the glint of anger in Twigpelt's eyes was sorrow. He shook his head and looked away.


	9. Chapter Eight

_Wow! Thanks for the reviews, everyone! I think that the title change might have increases veiws or something. And sorry this chapter took so long._

Silence & DahliaStarr:_ This is a quote from an Erin Hunter Chat (Number Six) _"**Early on, we decided that the name "moon" shouldn't be used by Clan cats** not because it would insult StarClan, but because it would imply that a particular cat had more beauty and significance than its Clanmates. In fact (Warriors trivia coming up!) Bluestar was originally called Moonstone! However, a couple of references crept in to her mother being called Moonflower, most notably in Secrets of the Clans. Although I tried to change this to Duskflower in the website Q&A, there was a general feeling when we came to Bluestar's Prophecy that we should go with the name that had appeared in previous books. So, uniquely, and kind of by accident, Bluestar's mom is indeed Moonflower."

_I assume Moonflower is a bit of a fluke, and Harveymoon was named that because Modern SkyClan doesn't know much about tradition (Erin confirmed the Harvey thing). _

_But she did say that she didn't think that StarClan would be insulted. I think _this_ situation is different because you can bet that Mistblossom didn't accidently name her daughter something that would insult others. She _purposefully_ chose a name that was connected to StarClan_ because_ it was connected to StarClan_._ Not all the cats knew this, but StarClan did (and thus were offended) and Twigpelt did (because he was there when she named her). Since Twigpelt is a medicine cat, the other cats knew that if he thought the name was insulting to StarClan, it probably was. Actually, I didn't know that it wasn't usually an insult to StarClan when I started. *Fail* But I still think the story's okay._

_Actually, I invented a cat with the Moon prefix for another story. Then I learned that cats don't use Moon for names. So I thought, "Maybe her mother was just the type to bend the rules and name her kit something strange. Then Mistblossom forced herself into existance and demanded I write a story about her. And I obeyed. Mistblossom might not be an epic fighter, but she's quick to use her claws. *Shiver* And she's used to getting her way._

Isi Wirter: _Mistblossom is fun to write. Actually, this is her story just as much as it's Moonpaw's. :) Also, did I ever change viewpoints? If I did, it was an accident. Could you tell me where you thought I shifted views so I can fix it? Thanks!_

_That. Author's. Note. Was. Way. Too. Long. Sorry!_

* * *

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Great Stump for a Clan meeting!" Brackenstar yowled.

Moonpaw swallowed the last of her robin and raced up to see what was going on. Nearby, Logfur strided to the stump. It had been nearly a half-moon since his accident. Moonpaw avoided his gaze and spotted Crimsonpelt and Wingfoot. She went to sit with them. "Must be announcing who's going to the Gathering!" said Crimsonpelt.

But then Brackenstar began to speak. "Logfur! Is it your wish to give up the name of a warrior and join the elders?" Logfur nodded solemnly. "Then may StarClan grant you many moons of rest. We honor your long and diligent service to the Clan. You bravely rescued Moonpaw from the monster."

Moonpaw's ears burned as the Clan turned to look at her. She stared at her paws.

Brackenstar continued. "Your tail shall forever be a mark of this bravery. For this reason, your name shall also reflect this. Spirits of StarClan, you know every cat by name. I ask you now to take away the name from the cat you see before you, for it no longer stands for what he is. By my authority as Clan leader, and with the approval of our warrior ancestors, I give this cat a new name. From this moment on he will be known as Logtail, to mark the injury he obtained while saving an apprentice."

"Logtail! Logtail!" Moonpaw did not join in on the cheer, feeling far too embarrassed. Logtail nodded and padded towards the elders, to sit with his new den mates. Suddenly, Moonpaw realized something. _I didn't chant his name! That's exactly what I was angry at the elders for doing- and then I did it to an elder! _She stared at the ground like it was the most interesting thing in the forest.

"Now, a happier duty. The cats going to the Gathering are Branchtail, Whitetooth, Paleflower, Lightningfur, Lilypelt, Gorsepelt, Mothstep, and Tansywhisker, as well as, of course, Rainbreeze and Twigpelt." Brackenstar leapt off the Great Stump.

"Wow, _none_ of us were chosen!" Crimsonpelt said to Wingfoot and Moonpaw. Moonpaw had been too busy avoiding looking anyone in the eye to be too disappointed, but it was a shame.

"Maybe the three of us could do something fun together?" Wingfoot suggested. The day after Logtail was hurt, Crimsonpelt had taken Wingfoot and Lilypelt with them on a training session. They had been working on how to approach a whole flock of birds, which could only be done with a lot of cats. Moonpaw suspected that it was mostly to take her mind off Logtail.

"We could all go night-hunting," Crimsonpelt said. "Moonpaw, you should have a lesson in that sometime, anyway."

The tabby apprentice nodded. "That sounds good." Then she spotted Mistblossom striding toward Brackenstar, her eyes blazing. "Er... I'll be right back." She slipped away to see what was up.

She arrived just in time to hear Mistblossom say, "-know very well what I'm talking about!"

"Mistblossom..." Brackenstar said.

"An apprentice _always_ goes to the Gathering! Moonpaw has been training for almost two moons, and she didn't go to the last one!"

"She's still young," Brackenstar pointed out.

Mistblossom sniffed. "Lilypelt and Paleflower are going. She might not get a chance to go to the Gathering with both of them for moons!"

Brackenstar sighed. "Fine, fine." He raised his voice. "Everyone! It's time to go! Moonpaw, you're coming with," he added, turning to her. Crimsonpelt twitched an ear with surprise.

Excitement shot through Moonpaw.

"Bye!" she called to Crimsonpelt and Wingfoot.

"Come on," said Twigpelt, flanking her. Moonpaw tried to run ahead to be with Paleflower and Lilypelt, but the warriors were moving too quickly. Even the elders, Tansywhisker and Mothstep, were steadily hobbling along. Moonpaw had to run to keep up with the group. "Great StarClan," Twigpelt muttered. "I don't know _what_ the other Clans will think when you introduce yourself.

"I doubt they're going to drive me out of the forest," Moonpaw panted.

"But they won't like it."

"I don't see how it's _that_ insulting to StarClan!"

"They wouldn't either. They would just think that your mother was merely setting you up as more special than others. They won't be happy, but they don't know that Mistblossom _wanted_ to say that you're equal to the stars."

"Are you _sure_ that's what she wanted?"

"Yes. I never should have told her..."

"About the prophecy?" Moonpaw said quietly.

"Wha- It's not a prophecy! And how do you even know about it?"

"Mistblossom told me."

Twigpelt shook his head. "She should have known better. Listen, that was _not_ a prophecy. It merely was... indicated that you would have a special destiny."

Moonpaw perked up. "A_ special_ destiny? You said it! I really am special, so if the other Clans knew, they shouldn't dislike my _special_ name."

"Your name and your destiny are unrelated!" Twigpelt hissed. "Mistblossom disrespected StarClan! Why could she not have named you Frostkit or Blossomkit? Or Silverkit! Silver is a perfectly good choice. It's your color, after all."

"We're approching ThunderClan territory!" Brackenstar announced.

Moonpaw raised her tail. "We have to cross ThunderClan to get to the Gathering, right?"

Twigpelt nodded and picked up his pace. "Come on, Silver."

* * *

_Fourtrees_! The Great Oaks loomed over her, their leaves shining in the moonlight. A huge stone stood in the center, its point arching toward the sky. A vast crowd of cats mingled below, though Moonpaw only scented two Clans so far. She could only imagine what it would be like with all five. Brackenstar yowled, and SkyClan poured into the clearing.

"Only RiverClan and ShadowClan so far," Twigpelt commented. Moonpaw had never smelled ShadowClan before. She tucked it away in her memory. "There's Lilypelt. You better go catch up with her, Silver."

Moonpaw blinked and rushed off.

"There you are!" her half-sister purred. "Here, come meet Ravenfur and Cloudypaw."

"Lilypelt!" A RiverClan tom said.

"Hi, Ravenfur. This is my half-sister, Moonpaw."

Ravenfur twitched an ear and narrowed his eyes slightly. "_Moon_paw?"

Lilypelt nudged him. "Oh, come on!"

"Uh, right. Nice to meet you. This is my apprentice, Cloudypaw." He nodded towards a white she-cat with a gray tail tip.

The RiverClan cat shyly looked at the ground. "Hi."

"Hello," Moonpaw said.

"She's awfully young for the Gathering," Lilypelt said, glancing at Cloudypaw. "I guess you must be training her really well."

Ravenfur curled his tail around his apprentice. "I like to think so. Only apprenticed for half a moon, and already snatching fish up like a warrior."

"N-not _really_," Cloudypaw said.

"This is my first Gathering, too," Moonpaw said.

"Oh?"

"Here comes ThunderClan and WindClan!" Ravenfur said. "You wouldn't know that WindClan cats were fast if you judged by when they arrived at Gatherings, would you?"

Lilypelt purred.

A new cat-scent overwhelmed Moonpaw as two skinny she-cats sat nearby. One was red-brown, and the other white and gold. Their scent reminded Moonpaw of heather, rabbit, hare, and gorse. WindClan.

"That's Pebblestar, the WindClan leader," said Lilypelt. "The one with the gray fur? And Lichenstar is the tabby next to him. Palestar of ShadowClan has a cream coat, and the ThunderClan leader, Patchstar, is white and brown."

"Lichenstar will announce your apprenticeship soon," Ravenfur told his apprentice.

"Cats of all Clans!" Patchstar yowled. "The Gathering has now begun. Lichenstar will now tell us RiverClan's news."

"Thank you," the gray tom said. "We have two new apprentices. Dropletpaw and Cloudypaw now train under Blueshade and Ravenfur."

Next was Patchstar, who told the Clans that Thornflower's apprentice had received her full medicine cat name, Hollyheart.

As the cheers died down, Palestar began. "We also have new apprentices. Dovestep's son, Rockpaw, now trains under Poolsplash as a medicine cat. His brothers, Pinepaw and Hawkpaw, have also moved into the apprentices' den. Grasspool's kits have also been born- two she-cats!"

"All is well in WindClan," Pebblestar declared. "Whitecough has attacked our camp, but Elmbark healed it quickly, and we lost no cats. Also, StarClan blessed us when a flock of blackbirds landed in our territory. I sent out some warriors to catch them, so despite leafbare's harshness, we ate well."

Brackenstar spoke. "SkyClan is doing well. We have a new warrior. Paleflower!"

"Paleflower!" Moonpaw meowed. "Paleflower!"

"Congratulations, SkyClan," said Patchstar. "All the Clan leaders have spoken. This Gathering is dismissed."

"Moonpaw!" Paleflower said good-bye to the group of ThunderClan and WindClan she-cats she was sitting with and dashed over. "How was your first Gathering?"

"Great!" Moonpaw turned to her half-sister. "Come on, Lilypelt!"

"Bye, Ravenfur!" Lilypelt mewed, licking his shoulder.

Moonpaw walked with her friends. Then, when they reached their own territory, Twigpelt spoke up.

"That was bad, Silver," he softly growled.

Blinking at the nickname, Moonpaw said, "What do you mean?" Moonpaw's name was taken badly only by Ravenfur, and even he didn't care that much.

"Did you see RiverClan?"

The she-cats nodded.

"They were too thin for my liking."

Moonpaw twitched an ear. "I didn't think so."

"You wouldn't," said Twigpelt. "This is the first time you've met them. They're usually on the plump side, to say the least."

"But the river isn't frozen yet," said Paleflower. "How could they be?"

"The stream in our territory starting to ice over," Twigpelt meowed. "I think most of the river is, too. And it's going to get colder. Then, the entire river will have a solid sheet of ice on it."

"Are they going to steal our prey, like last leafbare?" said Lilypelt, her voice filled with worry.

"I think so."

"B-but they learned their lesson!" Lilypelt seemed flustered. "I fought them off myself!"

Twigpelt unsheathed his claws. "No they didn't. You chased them away, sure. But they landed many good blows themselves. We almost lost Mistblossom, the way she flung herself into battle like a mad cat."

"Mistblossom was fighting for her Clan!" said Lilypelt. "You're making it sound like she was doing something wrong."

"She was fighting for her pride. Rainbreeze told her not to come, but she didn't listen."

Lilypelt bristled. "We won."

"Yes," Twigpelt sighed. "But RiverClan thinks highly of themselves. And I'd bet the fattest rabbit in the forest that they will invade- someday, but someday soon."


	10. Chapter Nine

The sparrow hopped from branch to branch on the bush, ruffling its feathers. Moonpaw prowled around the shrub, unsure how to approach it. Her assessment was nearly done, and she had only caught two other pieces of fresh-kill. Moonpaw recalled Wingfoot telling her that one cat could scare an animal out of a bush while another waited for it to emerge, but of course Moonpaw was hunting alone. Maybe she could lure it out. She stalked away until she found a nut under a tree root. Then she placed it by the sparrow's bush and hid in a patch of thick grass. The cool stalks pressed uncomfortably on her sides, but after a while her body warmed them, and the grass became a shelter from the bitter cold. Moonpaw's heart soared as the bird fluttered down to the food, but then it crashed when she realized that the sparrow was facing her. She could reach it in a single bound, however, it was so small that Moonpaw wasn't sure she could snatch it if it flew away. She flexed her claws angerly. Her tail flicked with impatience until she remembered that Crimsonpelt had reminded her just yesterday not to do that when hunting. Finally the bird circled around the nut, pecking at it. It had its back turned just enough. Moonpaw pounced. The grass was relatively noiseless as she sprang, but the sparrow jerked up anyway. It was just starting to take flight when the tabby hooked it with her claws. She forced it to the ground with such force that its spine broke- a clean kill. Moonpaw anxiously gazed at the sky. Twilight! She hurried back to camp.

* * *

"Not bad for your first assessment," Crimsonpelt purred. "But you were a little late in coming back."

"Sorry," Moonpaw grumbled. She didn't think it was such a big deal.

"But I did a little bit of hunting, so this should be enough to feed the elders."

"Did I pass?" Moonpaw asked.

Crimsonpelt smiled. "Yes. You did great, actually. Your technique when you caught the blackbird was flawless."

Moonpaw glowed. "Can I go to the next Gathering?"

"The next Gathering- that's a while from now! You went to your first only half a moon ago- and you've only been training for just over two moons. Brackenstar will choose who goes. I'm going to report your progress to Brackenstar. You go take food to the elders."

Moonpaw scooped up two of her catches into her jaws and held the other one under her chin, like Crimsonpelt taught her.

"Hello!" Scareye said, poking his neck out of the elder's den. "Is that a sparrow?"

Moonpaw dropped it by his feet. "Here you go!" She pushed it towards him.

Scareye sniffed it and glanced at the other elders. "There won't be enough for all of us if I eat it all myself."

"Oh," Moonpaw said. "Crimsonpelt caught some prey too. I'll fetch it."

When she returned, the cats eagerly divided the prey up among themselves.

"Burnclaw can have this blackbird." Mothstep pushed it aside.

"Where _is_ Burnclaw?" Moonpaw asked. The red-brown tom was too old to go on walks very often.

Mothstep looked confused.

"She's been away for her assessment all day, she wouldn't know," Logtail pointed out. He turned to Moonpaw. "Burnclaw has whitecough. He's with Twigpelt."

"Briarkit and Thrushkit have it too," said Tansywhisker.

Moonpaw's eyes widened. "I'll take him the blackbird right away!"

The elders always sheltered under a bush, but one of the walls of their den was a stone with a huge crack in one side. Twigpelt kept his nest and herbs there, so it only took Moonpaw a moment to bring the prey there.

"Silver," Twigpelt murmured. "What do you want?"

"You came to see us!" Brairkit said. She coughed. "How was your assessment? Did you catch that crow?"

Moonpaw set the fresh-kill down. "I did catch it, but it's a blackbird. No cat can catch a crow, they're too clever. And I brought it for Burnclaw."

"Thank-" Burnclaw broke off into coughing.

"How much fresh-kill did you get when you were hunting?" Briarkit mewled.

"Quiet!" Twigpelt hissed. "Thrushkit is sleeping."

Moonpaw gazed down at the pitiful bundle of tortoiseshell fur. "How is he?"

Twigpelt sighed. "He'll be alright, I think." He turned to Briarkit. "_You_, however, won't get better unless you get some rest."

Briarkit flopped on her nest, but hardly relaxed. "_Please_ tell me what happened, Moonpaw."

"If you're very, very quiet and you go to sleep after I'm done," Moonpaw said. Briarkit nodded. "Good. I caught three pieces of prey. A sparrow, that blackbird, and a shrew. Crimsonpelt said I passed the test, and he's telling Brackenstar how I did."

The ill kit smiled. "How long till you become a warrior?"

Moonpaw sighed. "Pretty long. About four moons."

"I'll be an apprentice in two."

"Yes." Moonpaw paused. "It's late. I better go."

* * *

Moonpaw stretched her forepaw. _Just a little bit farther._ She snagged the branch and pulled herself up. She looked down at Crimsonpelt, panting.

"Good work," he said. "That's enough climbing practice for today." The silver apprentice worked her way down the chestnut tree. _Only a few more fox-lengths to the ground._ She leapt onto the next limb. She thought it was sturdy, but it wildly swayed and sagged under her weight. She hastily jumped off before she could lose her balance, but misjudged her leap and awkwardly landed on the next branch. The tabby lost her grip and plummeted to the earth. There was no time to turn so that she landed on her paws. She crashed against a branch and flopped to the ground. Crimsonpelt raced to her side."Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," Moonpaw panted. She tried to get to her feet. "Ow!" Her hind leg felt like a thorn was driven into it.

"You're bleeding!"

"I must have hit that branch too hard."

Crimsonpelt licked the wound. "You can almost see camp from here. Lean on me, you can make it."

Moonpaw staggered back to camp, but her scrape was bleeding heavily. "Come on," Crimsonpelt urged. They walked to the medicine cat's den.

"Then I told Mallowtail, 'ThunderClan will never have SkyClan's land!' He hissed at me and lunged-"

"What are you doing here, Jumpfoot?" Crimsonpelt meowed.

"Just telling my daughter some stories." His gaze landed on Moonpaw's cut. "StarClan! What happened?"

"I was just climbing-"

"Oh, dear. What was I thinking, you're here to see Twigpelt, not chat. Twigpelt!"

The brown-furred tom emerged from the back of the den. He didn't look happy. "You don't need to yowl. How was I supposed to treat Burnclaw with you screeching like I'm all the way at Highstones?" He pulled some marigold leaves off a stone ledge and began chewing them into a pulp.

"Don't I need cobwebs first?" Moonpaw said.

Twigpelt spat the salve onto an oak leaf. "Of course you do! I didn't have any cobwebs since Lightningfur chased that rogue off the territory."

"But you treated him four days ago!" Crimsonpelt lashed his tail.

"And Burnclaw and the kits have been sick for seven. And now that Gingertail and Tansywhisker have colds, I've been too busy even with Jumpfoot's help."

Jumpfoot never seemed like the medicine type to Moonpaw. "He's been helping?"

Jumpfoot licked Thrushkit's ear. "Only today. I told Berrydapple that I would visit the kits, so she could go hunt with a friend. I've been fetching some things, as I'm here and all. In fact, why don't I gather some cobwebs?"

"Jumpfoot!"

"I'll finish the story later, Briarkit. Anyways, Berrydapple should almost be done hunting with Mistblossom. She'll drop by to see you."

Twigpelt sniffed the air. "Here they come now."

"Bad news!" Berrydapple panted. "The river is completely frozen! RiverClan won't be able to fish."

Twigpelt hissed and unsheathed his claws. "Wonderful. Let's hope that they don't realize how weak we are right now."

Crimsonpelt rose to his paws. "I'd better go hunting before those fish-faces get to it first."

"Can I come with?" Moonpaw asked.

Twigpelt shook his head. "Not with that scratch."

"I'm going to tell Brackenstar the news." Berrydapple licked her kits farewell and followed Crimsonpelt out of the den.

Jumpfoot trailed after her. "We're going to need cobwebs more than ever if there's going to be a battle."

Mistblossom lashed her tail. "RiverClan better mind the border."

_Great_, thought Moonpaw, _the Clan needs me more than ever now. Of all the times to get a scratch!_

* * *

_Yay, another chapter done. Secrets to be revealed (well, actually, hinted at) next time! Remember to reveiw!_


	11. Chapter Ten

"Twigpelt," Gingertail meowed from farther inside the den. "My head hurts."

The medicine cat picked a poppy seed pod from a ledge and turned towards the she-cat. His tail knocked a heap of leaves down from their place.

"Your den's a mess," Mistblossom said.

Twigpelt looked up from his patient to shoot the tabby an angry look. "That's really helpful."

Mistblossom sniffed and snatched a piece of moss from the gound. She placed it on Moonpaw's wound and held it in place, shifting its position when one spot of moss was saturated with blood. "I think it stopped bleeding now."

"No cat uses moss for wounds," Burnclaw drowzily growled.

"If Jumpfoot's trying to gather up a decent supply of cobwebs, he could take a while," Mistblossom snapped. Burnclaw snorted and buried himself into his bedding. "The burdock root and chervil root is mixed up," Mistblossom said.

"_Look_!" said Twigpelt. "If you're trying to say I'm incompitent, save it for a time where I'm _not_ busy!"

Mistblossom blinked and drew herself back. "I wasn't trying to..." She trailed off. "You needn't yowl at me, Twigpelt." She whisked around and left.

* * *

Moonpaw shifted her paws outside of Twigpelt's den. She had gotten her injury yesterday, and Twigpelt was supposed to check on it. It was twilight, but even though Jumpfoot had said that the medicine cat was ready, Briarkit's fever suddenly worsened, delaying Twigpelt. He finally emerged from the cave. "I thought I'd never find that borage," he grumbled. The tomcat carefully removed the moss and replaced it with cobwebs. "I don't think you'll need more marigold. I want to save it for the battle."

Moonpaw's ears pricked. "You're sure we're going to fight?"

"Positive."

A shiver of excitment shot through Moonpaw. "Do you think Crimsonpelt will teach me some battle moves?"

"He should, now that you passed your first assessment. Your scrape's nearly healed. Perhaps you can work on them tomorrow."

Jumpfoot bounded towards them. "I brought some water for the kits," he said, setting a bundle of wet moss down.

"Really, Jumpfoot!" Mistblossom said.

"What are you doing here, Mistblossom?" Twigpelt hissed.

"I just got back from hunting with Lightningfur and Berrydapple. And you should have been there, Jumpfoot. You're one of the best hunters in the Clan, yet you're spending all your time fetching things for a _medicine cat_."

Jumpfoot narrowed his eyes slightly but said nothing. He scooped up the moss and slipped into the den. A few moments later he silently headed to the fresh-kill pile.

Moonpaw, who had already eaten, went to her own nest in the apprentice's den. But after a whole day of resting she hardly felt like going to sleep, late though it was. But two other cats clearly weren't resting either.

"At least Jumpfoot's loyal enough to care that the Clan is ill, Mistblossom. If you're so concerned about him helping me, why don't you take his place?" Twigpelt snarled.

"Maybe because you're too proud to ask me first."

"And you're too proud to offer. Your Clan needs your skills, but you don't help."

Moonpaw peeked out of her den enough to see Mistblossom take a step towards the medicine cat. "Oh, so _I'm_ the one who doesn't care about the Clan? _You_ shunned the Clan when we needed you most. Cats were dying then, but poor little Twigpelt needed his _quiet time_! Poor little Twigpelt was too sad to help his Clan mates!"

"You weren't exactly nice about it."

"But I _tried_ to help! And did you thank me? No! And now you're begging me to help."

"I'm not begging you, Mistblossom!"

There was silence. Then- "Well, maybe you should."

Twigpelt paused before saying, "We start at dawn. I'll need you to gather lavender and feverfew."

"Did I say yes?"

"You're doing it. I need to get back to my patients."

* * *

_Well, that was short. :p_


	12. Chapter Eleven

Moonpaw yawned as she trudged out of the den. The camp was very quiet, though the sun was rising. She sniffed her wound. _Healed enough for battle practice._ Worry over the argument she overheard pricked at her heart, but joy to start training overwhelmed it. "Hey Moonpaw!" Paleflower called. The apprentice raced over, and Paleflower nudged a skinny mouse over. "Share?"

"Thanks!" Moonpaw swallowed a chunk of the savory meat. "Yum!" Paleflower smiled and took her share, but other cats looked startled at Moonpaw's cheerful tone. "What?" The tabby nervously twitched an ear.

"I don't know," Paleflower whispered.

"Should I ask someone?"

Paleflower shrugged. "Why are we whispering, anyways?"

"Everyone else is so quiet."

"Yeah." Paleflower uneasily nibbled the mouse.

"I'm going to see what's going on." Moonpaw stood up and strode over to Crimsonpelt. "Crimsonpelt, why is everyone so worried?"

Her mentor blinked. "Moonpaw... Burnclaw died last night."

The silver she-cat stiffened. "Was Twigpelt there?"

He nodded. "And Mistblossom. They gave him all the herbs they had, but nothing helped."

"O-oh." The apprentice looked at the ground. She didn't feel like she should bring up battle training. "I guess... I guess I'll tell Paleflower." Her paws felt heavy. She hadn't particularly liked Burnclaw. But to think she would never see him again!

* * *

"Oof!"

"Careful on your injured leg!" Crimsonpelt warned. "Maybe I should have left the Sky-Drop for later."

"I'm fine! Let me try again!" Before he could say otherwise, Moonpaw scrambled back up the tree.

"No, Moonpaw! You shouldn't be flinging yourself out of trees. Let's just work on some slashing, okay? _Okay?_"

"Alright... but I guess I need to get down now that I've already climbed up." Moonpaw soared off the branch, lashing her tail to aim herself.

"Moon- Ouch!" Crimsonpelt collapsed as his apprentice landed on his shoulders.

"Gotcha!"

"Can't you just listen?" Crimsonpelt snapped, flinged her off. Moonpaw drew back, shocked. Usually her mentor was better tempered. The tomcat sighed. "C'mon, let's work on those slashes."

They practiced until twilight. Despite falling on her nose three times, Moonpaw had fun- save for Crimsonpelt's grumpiness. But by the end of practice, he seemed more cheerful.

"You were great," Crimsonpelt said as they headed for camp. "You'll make quite a warrior."

"I know!" Moonpaw said cheekily. Crimsonpelt smiled and cuffed her ear.

_StarClan has a great destiny for me!_ Moonpaw thought. Would she really become leader? Or would her path go somewhere else? Moonpaw wondered if she really could do all of Brackenstar's duties one day. Suddenly she stumbled and her paws slid wildly.

"Hey!" Crimsonpelt nosed her to her feet. "You fell right onto the river! Watch where you're going."

Moonpaw blinked. "I guess I wasn't paying attention. Good thing its frozen solid."

"Not really," Crimsonpelt snorted. "RiverClan's going to attack."

Moonpaw shivered as she imagined the battle cries of injured, wild-eyed warriors as cat fought cat. A whiff of fox scent blew past, and the vision changed to a Clan being shredded by the dog-like creatures.

"Moonpaw," Crimsonpelt's voice cut into her thoughts. "We're at camp."

The apprentice blinked. "I knew that," she mumbled as she entered the clearing. She _sort_ of did, at least. They were greeted by the unsettling sight of cats starting Burnclaw's vigil.

Crimsonpelt looked at his paws. After a moment of silence- "He was my father."

"Oh!" Moonpaw twitched an ear. "I- I didn't know. I'm so sorry."

"It's... alright. I guess. He retired by the time I was made a warrior, so we were never super close. But I'm going to sit vigil, so no training until sunhigh. You can hunt or something before then."

"Okay. StarClan bless you."

* * *

"Mother! Did the hunting parties leave already?"

Mistblossom looked up from the bundle of herbs she was sorting. "Yes. It's going to snow today, so they want to catch something as soon as possible."

"Mousedung!" Moonpaw meant to get up early enough to join one. "Can I go hunting by myself?"

Mistblossom shook her head. "Not with RiverClan going to attack."

Moonpaw sighed and walked over to the medicine cat's den. Maybe she would visit the kits. "How is everyone?" she asked Twigpelt.

The medicine cat glanced up from dabbing slightly damp moss on Briarkit's forehead. "Thrushkit's almost completely better, and Gingertail and Tansywhisker have the all-clear. But now Jumpfoot's gone and caught whitechough."

"Sorry," the black tom said. "If I could've helped it, I would have."

"I'm thirsty!" Briarkit complained.

Moonpaw sniffed the air. "It will probably start snowing in a few hours. You could drink snowmelt."

"I'm thirsty _now_."

"All my patients could use some water. Mistblossom, you go get some. Bring Moonpaw so you can carry more; she needs something to do anyways."

Mistblossom narrowed her eyes as she reached for the moss. "You're welcome."

As they walked toward the river, Moonpaw mumbled through the moss, "How do you think we'll break the ice?"

Mistblossom shrugged.

_There's the stream, finally. _Moonpaw picked up the pace. Then the moss she was carrying dropped to the ground and she froze. Shrieks pierced the air.

The battle had begun.


	13. Chapter Twelve

Mistblossom's eyes widened. "Try to stay near me during the battle." Then she leapt forward, toward the sound of fighting. Moonpaw's nerves wildly jumped as she dashed after her mother. Her first battle! Right _now_! Excitement and fear clashed in a battle of their own within her. Her paws felt numb, yet still tingled with anticipation.

Five SkyClan warriors were fighting madly up ahead. Eight RiverClan warriors and one apprentice, Moonpaw quickly tallied, opposed them. Harsh odds... yet it made no sense. Even if a few warriors stayed in RiverClan territory to guard the camp and hunt, and a few warriors were sick, RiverClan should have been able to offer more fighting cats. Was a second patrol hidden to strike when needed most? There was no time to think about it more.

"Concentrate on that speckled gray she-cat," Mistblossom whispered. Then they plunged forward, toward a cat advancing on Lightningfur. Lightningfur was already pinned by Carpfin and a brown she-cat, so they couldn't let the gray she-cat get at him. Mistblossom reached the she-cat first. She sprang on the warrior, pushing her onto her flank. Carpfin looked up in surprise, giving Lightningfur time to wrench himself free. Then Moonpaw struck the gray cat's side. She scrambled to her feet, swatting Moonpaw away with unsheathed claws. But Mistblossom lunged forward and dug her teeth into the she-cat's shoulder. "Take that, Cloverfur," she mulmbled through her mouthful of fur. Moonpaw got up and advanced forward, and tried her new slashing techniques on Cloverfur's flank. Outnumbered, the warrior pulled herself away from Mistblossom and fled.

But Moonpaw hardly took one breath before she felt something slam into her. She turned her head and pushed her attacker away. _Cloudypaw? _The enemy apprentice hissed, fluffing up her pelt. Any possibility of RiverClan taking a small number of warriors for tactical reasons flew from Moonpaw's head. RiverClan must have been desperate to bring such a young apprentice; their other warriors had to be in a backup patrol. Moonpaw raised a forepaw and brought it down, aiming for her opponent's ear, but Cloudypaw was swift; backing away instantly. Moonpaw's next blow connected- barely. Cloudypaw had shifted away again and landed a strike of her own. So Moonpaw used pure force, lunging at the smaller cat and slashing at her face. Cloudypaw screeched in pain and backed away. Moonpaw's heart melted. She was causing so much pain to a cat she had once been friendly with! But she had to fight for the Clan. She surged forward, and Cloudypaw scrambled away. Maybe Moonpaw wouldn't have to deal any more blows to get the white she-cat to run away. The SkyClan apprentice snarled as she advanced. _Go on, Cloudypaw, leave!_ Moonpaw had to try a little harder. She got close enough to jab the apprentice's flank, and Cloudypaw backed up faster. _Yes!_

"Stay away from my apprentice!" Something pushed Moonpaw to the ground and her jaw crashed against the earth. _Ravenfur! _Moonpaw's struggles were useless. She looked around for help- but Lightningfur and Whitetooth were too far away, and Mistblossom was overwhelmed by a huge ginger tom. Branchtail fought two warriors at once.

"Lilypelt!" Moonpaw wailed. "Help!" Her half-sister's eyes widened, filled with fear, sorrow, and shock. She froze. "Help!" Moonpaw repeated. Lilypelt pushed her way past a RiverClan tabby, but the ginger tom Mistblossom was was fighting backed into Lilypelt's path. Moonpaw felt teeth sink into her shoulder as the black tom's claws scored across her side. Lilypelt pushed her way towards them. Hissing, she swatted Ravenfur with a forepaw.

The dark-pelted cat turned his head to see his attacker. "Lilypelt!" He slid off Moonpaw with surprise, and the apprentice slipped out of his claws. She flipped around and slashed him, and he countered with a powerful swipe. Lilypelt shoved herself between them.

"Ravenfur, please!" She showed her teeth and he hung back. Then she raised a forepaw angrily. Moonpaw fluffed up her fur, snarling. Ravenfur started to slink away. Relief flowed through Moonpaw, but her ears still rang with yowling, her wounds stung, and heavy scents flooded through her. RiverClan, fear-scent, blood... Fox. Suddenly Moonpaw remembered her visualization of foxes attacking.

"Fox!" she impulsively screeched. "Fox attack! From over there!" She pointed with her nose. Ravenfur and Cloudypaw looked shocked, and they exchanged a nervous glance.

"She's right!" Mistblossom gasped. Her Clan mates formed a defensive row. Two foxes raced toward them, chasing three RiverClan cats, Lichenstar among them. So that had been where the other warriors were! But even though SkyClan had chased off several warriors, Whitetooth was fleeing from two fierce toms. SkyClan was already outnumbered, and three fresh enemies could overwhelm them, even without the foxes to worry about.

Moonpaw could only hope that RiverClan would have just enough trouble with them as SkyClan would, and that the two enemies would unite to fight the creatures. But that hope was crushed like a dry leaf under a badger's paw. The foxes had veered away from the battle, but the RiverClan members they chased turned back towards the other cats, luring the red-furred beasts to the line of SkyClan cats.

RiverClan was _trying _to lead the foxes to them!

* * *

_Sorry that took a while and isn't very long. I've been busy, since yesterday was my birthday party. And you know what I want for my birthday? Reviews! I don't mind really short ones (though longer comments are cool). Just be honest! I like knowing what people think of my stories. ;) Also, feel free to ask questions if you feel like it. I'll try to answer them all, though don't expect me to tell spoilers._


	14. Chapter Thirteen

_I kind of dislike this chapter, but I'm not completely sure why. If you have any ideas on what possibly could be wrong with it, please let me know and I'll try to revise. Thanks!_

* * *

The RiverClan warriors moved closer and closer. "For SkyClan!" Branchtail yowled, racing to meet them. She lunged at Lichenstar, pinning him to the earth. Then the foxes were upon them. They ignored Branchtail and her captive and ravaged through SkyClan's battle line. Cats scattered like birds being chased by dogs. Lilypelt fell to the ground, blood flowing from deep gashes. One of the foxes sniffed her before turning to Moonpaw. Fear pierced her heart. She desperately scrambled away, her paws getting tangled in brambles. She felt fangs sink into her tail, and her feet were lifted off the ground. She screamed out in pain.

"Get away from my daugter!" Mistblossom crashed into the fox's flank. It yelped, releasing Moonpaw. Mistblossom slashed the creature's face. The fox, stunned, was unable to avoid the blows. Moonpaw launched herself toward it, but a huge dark figure blocked her.

"Hey, _Moon_paw!" The RiverClan tom said. "Why does a cat as _special_ as you need to be rescued?"

Moonpaw gasped and stumbled back. _He's heard about me? _She had never really believed Twigpelt when he said cats would judge her for her name. Suddenly she was no longer a brave fighter. She turned away from the tom. He dashed after her. A ginger SkyClan cat came out from behind a bush, causing the tom to skid to a halt in order to not crash in to him.

"Coward!" Lightningfur spat, hooking the tom's ear with a claw. "Hornetstrike, why does a cat as _strong_ as you need to chase an apprentice?"

Their fight was interrupted by the second fox. Hornetstrike rolled away, but Moonpaw's father was scraped by its fangs. Both cats fled, Lightningfur into the woods, and Hornetstrike to RiverClan's line. Was there any way SkyClan could win? Moonpaw turned back to Mistblossom. The apprentice quickly gripped the fox's tail in her teeth, and her mother continued to attack it, slashing and biting over and over. The fox pulled away and dashed past Branchtail and Lichenstar. Mistblossom smirked slightly at Lichenstar. "Did you think your mouse-brained trick would work?"

The second fox turned to them. With a snarl, it charged. Branchtail darted toward it, striking its nose and drawing her paw back just in time before the fox snapped at it.

"Drive it toward RiverClan!" Moonpaw yowled.

Branchtail gave the smallest of nods and dashed toward the enemy line, hissing at the fox to provoke it into pursuing. The large ginger tom stepped forward, trying to block her, but he wasn't accounting for SkyClan cats jumping ability.

Lichenstar's face flashed with anger as the brown she-cat leapt over the RiverClan cats. The ginger tom instictfully scratched it, causing the fox to unleash its anger on him. Whenever the RiverClan cats tried to defend their Clan mate, they only agitated the creature. Yowling with fury, Lichenstar slashed Mistblossom's flank. "RiverClan _will_ win this territory! Clan mates! Fight for RiverClan and StarClan!"

"StarClan?" Mistblossom spat. "Were you honoring StarClan when you unleshed foxes upon us? They wouldn't obey the code that says not to kill in battle!"

"Oh, and _you_ honor StarClan?" Lichenstar turned to Moonpaw. "Take that, _Moon_paw!" He jabbed her ribs. She reached up and slashed at his face, but he easily blocked. Her claw just barely caught the tip of his ear.

"Get away from her!" Mistblossom struck his shoulder, while Moonpaw nipped at his legs, making him lose his balance. Then Mistblossom struck again, causing him to topple over...

...and hit his head on a rock. With a grunt of pain, he went still. Moonpaw stared in shock.

"A little help here?" Branchtail called. The fox was breaking up the mass of RiverClan cats very efficiently, but one she-cat was pinning Moonpaw's clanmate to the ground. Moonpaw shook herself to her senses and she and Mistblossom dashed to Branchtail's aid. Mistblossom knocked the warrior off Branchtail. One look at the three SkyClan cats that opposed her, and the she-cat fled.

"Hold the line!" Ravenfur yowled, but his attempts had no effect. "Lichenstar! We need you!"

"I think I see him!" a RiverClan cat called Frostblossom said. A moment later she gasped. "He's lost a life!"

Ravenfur glanced at his allies, fleeing the fox, and his leader, laying limp on the ground. "It's no use. Lichenstar had lost a life!" He yowled the news for the entire Clan to hear.

This was enough to make RiverClan give up all hope of fighting the fox. They fled, Frostblossom stopping to drag Lichenstar to safety.

"We won," said Branchtail. There was a bitter victory in her voice. Satisfaction, but no joy. Moonpaw looked around. Only her, her mother, and Branchtail remained. Every other cat had fled, too injured to remain fighting. Surely they wouldn't join hunting parties or patrols for a while. SkyClan had indeed won. But had it been at too high a price?


	15. Chapter Fourteen

_Yay! We broke the fifty review mark! Yay! And have I mentioned yay? I love knowing what people think about my stories._

* * *

"Twigpelt? We need you!" Moonpaw called.

Twigpelt slowly came out of his den. He took one look at the wounds and slumped to the earth. "Why, StarClan?"

"We need some help here, Twigpelt!" Branchtail prompted.

The misery in Twigpelt's eyes turned to hysterical anger. "_Why_ did you think we needed the stupid territory so much? Is a bit more hunting ground worth sending seven cats to the medicine cat's den?"

"Of course!" Mistblossom gasped. "We couldn't let RiverClan win!"

"I'm dealing with _greencough_ here! And Lightningfur, Lilypelt, Whitetooth, _and _Ringtail have already come here with wounds."

"We brought the water for the sick cats," Moonpaw quickly said, hoping the good news would cheer the medicine cat up.

His snarl faded for a moment. "It doesn't matter. It's too late."

_No!_ Moonpaw's heart lurched at the medicine cat's words. "Briarkit?"

He shook his head. "Jumpfoot."

Raw sorrow and shock jolted through Moonpaw. Mistblossom's eyes widened with confusion and surprise. "B-but he only had whitecough!"

"It was greencough all along. The loyal idiot didn't want me to give herbs to him instead of Briarkit and Thrushkit. And _I _was the naïve idiot who didn't see through him."

"Twigpelt," Mistblossom growled, "just because you couldn't save one cat doesn't give you the right to question if SkyClan should have fought RiverClan! It was the only loyal thing we could do!"

"Shut up!" Twipelt arched his back. "You don't even care that he's dead!" He turned and ran toward the camp enterance.

"Some things never change, Twigpelt, do they?" Mistblossom called after him.

Branchtail's pelt bristled, her face looking uncomfortable. "I'm sure some other cat knows how to stop bleeding. I'm going to the medicine cat's den." She padded away, looking shocked.

Moonpaw could stand it no longer. "Mother, what happened between you and Twigpelt? When did he abandon his Clan? I know something like that happened."

Mistblossom looked confused.

"I've heard you talk about... something. Did you have some kind of special argument?" she ventured.

Mistblossom sighed angrily. "Fine. When we were both young, my mother-"

"Mistblossom! Moonpaw!" Brackenstar paced toward them. "I heard about the battle."

_Of course! You're the _leader!

"Er, nice job fighting. It's a good thing you smelled the foxes, Moonpaw." Something occurred to Moonpaw. She _had_ smelled the fox, but smelling a fox wasn't necessarily a sign of trouble - it happened all the time. She had just somehow guessed they were going to attack. Maybe she really did have a special destiny!

"What are we going to do about hunting, now that we have so many injured cats?" Moonpaw asked.

Brackenstar scraped his claws against the ground. "Well... We'll just have to work harder." He looked thoughtful and paused for a while. "I guess I'll make Thrushkit and Briarkit apprentices soon. When Briarkit's better, of course. Maybe I'll apprentice Thrushkit before her."

"That sounds good," Mistblossom said.

"Er, you should be with Twigpelt. Go to his den."

Mistblosssom gritted her teeth. "He's not _in_ at the moment."

Brackenstar blinked. "Where is he?"

"He left." Mistblossom's eyes glittered. "Like last time."

"Oh, dear. I...I suppose I'll go get him. But you should go on to his den and..." He trailed off. "See you in a moment."

"I should go comfort Berrydapple about Jumpfoot," Mistblossom murmured as he left.

But Moonpaw stared after Brackenstar. She guessed he was flustered because of the battle. Of course, he hadn't really known what to do back when kittypets were invading. All Brackenstar had done was tell the patrols to make sure no invaders came, and to affirm one of Whitetooth's ideas about what to do. It didn't take much skill to do that. And even though every cat knew that RiverClan would probably attack, all he did was remind the deputy, Rainbreeze, to assign large patrols to that area. Which he might have done anyways.

As Mistblossom led her daughter to Twigpelt's den, many thoughts and worries flew threw Moonpaw's mind. Jumpfoot's death, for one. Greencough was suppose to rob the Clans of kits and elders, not strong warriors! And now they needed him more than ever. One thought was lighter: She now knew she could do as good a job as Brackenstar when she was older, if not better. But that too had a black shadow. Could SkyClan survive without a competent leader?

And then, the snowflakes started to tumble down.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

_*Cough* Sorry this chapter took two weeks. I hope everyone didn't forget everything from the main character's name to the main conflict since then._

* * *

"This was a really bad idea," Wingfoot said.

Moonpaw rolled her eyes. "You couldn't get me to agree with you when we were back in camp. Why do you think I'll change my mind now, when we've already been out for an hour?"

"Twigpelt will kill us when we get greencough."

"We're just going night hunting. ShadowClan cats do it all the time without getting sick."

"They don't do it when it _snowing_!" Wingfoot stamped a paw against the frosty earth.

Moonpaw shrugged and pushed through the undergrowth. "Mouse!" she whispered. She sniffed the creature out and caught it swiftly.

"Hurray, one mouse after ages of searching. Let's go home, Moonpaw. Now."

"You might as well take this with you when you head back." The silver apprentice tossed her catch over to her half-sister.

Wingfoot pushed it away. "I can't leave you alone _the_ night after RiverClan attacked! Mistblossom would kill me!"

"Then hunt with me! The Clan needs it, and they wouldn't let me help them with my injuries!"

Wingfoot sighed. "Are you really just doing this for the Clan?"

Moonpaw took a step back. "Er, Clan above all else. Like the warrior code says." She wondered if Wingfoot had seen right through it. _Of course this is for SkyClan. _But the truth lurked in the very back of Moonpaw's heart.

* * *

"Briarpaw! Briarpaw" the Clan chanted. Thrushpaw cheered along with the rest, even though Briarpaw had stubbornly refused to do the same for him when he was apprenticed before her. Even though Moonpaw knew how insulting that was, she couldn't have a grudge against the young she-cat. Being left out of her brother's ceremony _the_ dawn after their father died was too much for any cat.

"It'll only be a few more days," Moonpaw had promised her then. "Anyways, you'll probably need to wait six moons after Gingertail's kits are born, so starting your training before they come won't speed your warrior ceremony up."

The silver apprentice had been right; it was now just four days after the battle. Moonpaw had snuck out one more time to night hunt since her first attempt, but it was more difficult to leave now that Thrushpaw shared her den. It would only get harder now that Brairpaw was an apprentice, but Moonpaw was still happy for her. Plus, it marked that Moonpaw would probably just have two more moons to go before she became a warrior.

Briarpaw soaked in the cheering for a longer time then was normal, but as they started to wane, she jumped off the stump and bounded toward Moonpaw. "I can't believe the day's finally here!"

Moonpaw smiled at her friend. "I'm surprised Branchtail's your mentor. She's only just recovered from her injuries."

"I don't care! She did _so_ well in the battle. I'm glad she's my mentor! Anyways, there's only so many mentors to choose from, with Lightningfur and Mistblossom still injured, Rainbreeze, Ringtail, and Gorsepelt sick, and Gingertail expecting kits."

"And Crimsonpelt and Whitetooth already have apprentices," Moonpaw added. Whitetooth had been named Thrushpaw's instructor a few days prior. "Hey, Mother!" she called, twisting her head around to see her. "Did you ever have an apprentice?"

Mistblossom's tail twitched thoughtfully. "No... I can't say I have."

"Come on!" Branchtail yowled. "We're starting right now!"

"Oh, wow, wow, wow!" Briarpaw raced towards her new teacher. "I'm coming!"

Moonpaw spotted Crimsonpelt and pushed her way through the crowd towards him. "Can we go too?"

Crimsonpelt studied her. "Your wounds don't seem to have healed as fast as they should have."

The silver tabby glanced at her scars. Maybe running around outside camp late at night had something to do with it. "Can we just hunt a little?"

"You do need to learn how to hunt in the snow," he admitted. "And I doubt that the fresh-kill pile will be full to bursting."

"Yes!" Moonpaw cheered.

"Hold it!" a grouchy voice said.

Mistblossom sighed from behind them, clearly annoyed. "Twigpelt, for just once, mind your own business!"

"Healing cats _is _my business. Silver, your scars are fresh. Unusually fresh. You can hunt for a little." Twigpelt glanced at the snow-laden trees. "We don't really have a choice about that. But you come back _quickly_. It's not like you're useless around camp; you can do your apprentice duties, and, more importantly, assist me."

That reminded Moonpaw of something. "Um, speaking of helping you... do you think you can do without Mistblossom for the morning? It would be nice if she could come with us."

Twigpelt narrowed his eyes. "_Her_ scars are healing normally. I'll have someone else help me for the morning. But be back before sunhigh!"

* * *

"Try not to crunch the snow so much!" Crimsonpelt warned. "If the frost on the surface can hold your weight, walk on top, but gently. If it can't, which is more likely, move fast enough that there's no time for you to sink in- but don't fling snow everywhere either."

Moonpaw nodded.

"Sparrow!" Mistblossom hissed.

Crimsonpelt was closest, so he advanced toward the creature. "Watch!" He showed off the technique he had explained. A moment later, he pounced and hit the ground with a thud.

"Stealthy," Mistblossom purred.

"Well, I got it!" Crimsonpelt pawed at the snow. "One of the only good things this stuff is good for is that it preserves prey nicely and is easy to dig back up."

"I think I have the idea," said Moonpaw. "Why don't we fan out to look for more? I'll go with Mistblossom."

Crimsonpelt narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "Okay. But we should stay close enough together so you can fetch me if you find more prey. I want to see how you do."

Moonpaw quickly nodded and nudged her mother. "Come on!"

As they walked deeper into the forest, the apprentice glanced back at her mentor's path.

"I don't think that's the best way to find prey, dear. Crimsonpelt's searching over there."

"I know! I wanted to know if we were far enough away," Moonpaw said, lowering her voice. "If we're really quiet, you should be able to tell me what happened with you and Twigpelt. Brackenstar interrupted us the first time you tried."

Mistblossom paused her walking for a moment. "Fine."

Moonpaw eagerly nodded.

"We got along better when we were young. I was just a kit when this happened... about to be apprenticed." For some reason, she shuddered when she mentioned this fact.

"His mentor's name was Mintleaf. But she had died shortly before Twigpelt received his full medicine cat name. Twigpelt was very sad, obviously... We all were. She had been sick with greencough. The outbreak was worse than it is now."

Mistblossom closed her eyes. "My... my mother was also ill. Honeyfur. She was a golden tabby; a relation of Brackenstar's. Kind, funny, sweet. But after his mentor's death, Twigpelt... turned bad. Moody. Angry. He..." The words caught in Mistblossom's throat. Moonpaw stared at her paws nervously.

"Twigpelt gave up on the Clan. He just gave up. I think he did try. Or, I should say, tried to try. But he was angry and selfish and just didn't care. He _did_ tend to the many sick cats. But he _hardly_ tended to them. No cat knew what to say to him. He hated the Clan."

Moonpaw looked up, surprised.

"Yes, hated. We didn't do a thing. _They _were the ones in charge of healing. But he hated _us_. Anyways... One day, even the interest he _did_ take in the sick cats waned. Twigpelt went through the motions. He gave them herbs, fetched water from time to time..." Hate and sorrow welled in the warrior's voice. "...but he didn't even try to try." She fell silent.

Moonpaw flicked an ear slowly. "And... And Honeyfur died," she softly finished.

Mistblossom made no indication that she had noticed. But after a long time, she whispered, "Yes." She continued the story. "It _was _hard for Twigpelt. He wasn't quite fully trained, so shortly after... the death, he went at once to Highstones to receive his full powers and be blessed by StarClan as the sole medicine cat. However, he-" Mistblossom licked the fur on her chest for a few moments. "He didn't return the next day. He had abandoned us in spirit first, and now in body. No cat wanted to go searching, with so many sick. We couldn't afford to look for him, but we couldn't afford not to have him. But Poppystar, the leader at that time, was elderly, and sick with greencough. She was in no condition to make a decision. Our deputy was Bracken...tail, at the time. He... well, he didn't make a decision either. So nothing was done.

"After four days, in which an elder died of the greencough, Twigpelt upped and came back. Didn't say a thing about leaving. Every cat just pretended it never happened. But we all still called him Twigpaw. We weren't sure he had actually gone to Highstones, and no one wanted to ask. After the next half-moon, when medicine cats always go to the Moonstone, some cat called him Twigpaw and he corrected him with his new name. I'm not sure if he actually got his full name then or if he only told us then. But things were never the same after that. Other cats eventually treated him normally again. But I never did."

Moonpaw didn't know what to say. She opened her mouth for a moment, then closed it again. Finally- "But why does he hate you?"

"Mm?"

"I mean, I understand why you don't like him any more. And I know that if you hate him he naturally wouldn't like you. But if you didn't do anything else to him, why does he dislike you _this_ much?"

"Ah." Mistblossom shifted her paws, clearly nervous. "Oh!"

Crimsonpelt appeared from behind a fern. "Why aren't you looking for prey?"

"Sorry!" Moonpaw's tail fluffed up. "We were talking."

Crimsonpelt sighed. "Get on with it. The Clan needs food." His thick pelt was slicked down slightly with melted snow, and Moonpaw noticed how thin he was. She unsheathed her claws.

_I'll catch something, and every cat will be thankful._ But the immediate danger of hunger was matched in her heart by the weight of what her mother had told her. And the knowledge of that one last thing in Mistblossom's story that didn't add up...


	17. Chapter Sixteen

"It's not like ThunderClan is hostile," Moonpaw whispered to Paleflower. "They have plently of food. I don't get it why everyone is so edgy."

Paleflower rubbed her flank against the tree marking the border. They had been assigned to the dusk patrol together. Mistblossom and Ringtail, Palepaw's former mentor, stalked ahead of them, grim and alert. "It's _because_ they have lots of food," Paleflower said. "They're strong. One attack from them could practically wipe us out."

"I don't think Patchstar would hurt us."

"Deerpelt would."

Moonpaw's fur brushed against the bushes, leaving SkyClan scent on their branches, as she slowly followed the older warriors. "What does she have to do with anything? She's just a ThunderClan warrior."

Paleflower's eyes widened slightly. "She's their deputy."

"Since when!?" Moonpaw gasped.

"Quiet!" Ringtail hissed.

"Sorry!" Paleflower said. She stayed silent for a moment before softly saying, "A few days ago, Brighteyes overheard Deerpelt telling an apprentice to show her some respect since she was deputy."

Moonpaw twitched an ear. Moonpaw didn't know much about Deerpelt, but she was fairly young to be given such an important position. "That doesn't mean ThunderClan is going to attack."

Paleflower nodded. "No, but we're just making sure our patrols are strong enough that they don't get any ideas."

"RiverClan is way more of a threat." Moonpaw's wounds were barely healed. Her scars sill ached slightly.

"But we beat them."

Moonpaw flicked her tail. "They're desperate."

The patrol continued on. It had snowed slightly in the night, and their pawprints were clearly visible. It might have made them able to be tracked easily, but Moonpaw liked the effect. She sniffed the air. "Is that chervil-scent?"

"I think so. Why?"

"Twigpelt said Berrydapple had a bellyache, and I think he mentioned that she needed some chervil root." Moonpaw was surpirsed at herself for remembering; the fact that she was sneaking out to night-hunt more than ever recently had made her more groggy.

Ringtail turned around and padded back towards them. "Let's dig the roots up, then."

"Nice that you remembered," Paleflower said. "You're good with herbs."

"Come now," Mistblossom suddenly interjected. "She has a good memormy, but she's a warrior, not a medicine cat."

Paleflower blinked. "Um, sure, but she can still have skills with medicine, can't she?"

Mistblossom pawed the ground. "Well, let's just dig these these roots up. Where exactly are they?"

"I found them!" Ringtail called. Paleflower bounded up to her and the two scraped past the snow to uncover the muddy roots.

"I think I know how you smelled them when they were under all this snow." Paleflower asked. "It looks like a rabbit dug up a few scraps of it."

Moonpaw sniffed at the shredded bits of chervil root. "The rabbit scent's still fresh."

Ringtail smiled. "Let's go find it!" A rabbit could be enough for all four of the elders; it wouldn't completely fill their bellies, but that wasn't expected in leafbare. Or, Moonpaw thought, they could give some of the meat to Wingfoot. She had caught whitecough two days prior and needed all the strength she could get. Ringtail led the way through the snow. The rabbit had probably left about an hour ago, but it still had clearly visible tracks in the snow. Moonpaw tried her best to remember Crimsonpelt's tips for stalking in this weather.

"I think it's still here!" Paleflower excitedly whispered. Moonpaw scented the air. Rabbit-smell, clearer than ever! Ringtail picked up her pace slightly. Moonpaw's mouth watered as the patrol weaved their way through the bushes and trees. Moonpaw hurried past her mother and her friend, until her nose was almost brushing Ringtail's tail. Then Ringtail abruptly halted. Moonpaw tried to stop, but ended up stumbling. Her muzzle sank into the snow.

"What?" she spluttered, raising her head. Immediately she realized the answer. Although the air was heavy with rabbit-scent, there was no prey to be seen- only bright red marks on the frost and tufts of the creature's fur. Ringtail stalked closer and sniffed some nearby cat pawprints.

"RiverClan," she mewed gravely.

* * *

"Are we going to fight?" Briarpaw's tail lashed with excitement.

"Shh!" Branchtail cuffed her apprentice's ear. "Apprentices don't yowl out during a Clan meeting!"

Brackenstar's white tailt tip flicked back and forth, anxiety in his eyes. "I doubt we can afford a fight."

"I doubt we can afford to lose prey to RiverClan, either!" Scareye, one of the elders, called.

"We can't fight so soon after the last battle! We've hardly recovered, and we need all the warriors for hunting," countered Tansywhisker. As the oldest cat in the Clan, her opinion held weight.

"If most of the warriors target one of their patrols, we could overwhelm them in pure numbers and not be badly injured," Whitetooth suggested.

Brackenstar fidgeted. "What if another group of RiverClan cats block our escape?"

"Then we fight them!" Branchtail said.

"I... I don't _think_ we should fight right now," Brackenstar said. "M-maybe we'll fight if this happens again. Depending on the circumstances."

"For StarClan's sake," Twigpelt muttered to himself from the back of the crowd, "say something definitive."

Moonpaw's inkling that Brackenstar wasn't a very good leader hit her full force. The Clan was starving and at risk of a battle, but he couldn't even stop himself from stuttering. He hadn't said one thing that the Clan needed to know.

Brackenstar hesitated before stepping off the Great Stump, leaving the Clan to slowly disperse.

Moonpaw's mind was awhirl. Fighting RiverClan? Again? It seemed like an old battle repeating itself. She wandered across camp. Night had fallen, and she was tired. But no cat would stop her if she left camp so soon after a Clan meeting. They would assume she needed to make dirt before she went to sleep, or something. She padded out of camp and into the woods. There was prey to be caught.

* * *

Satisfaction crept into Moonpaw's heart. Two squirrels! It was a good haul for one night. She weaved her way through the trees. It was moonhigh, and she had to get back to camp. She wondered when she would get caught. Guilt gnawed at Moonpaw as she thought of the real reason she snuck out. She shoved the thought away.

Crackling leaves sounded from nearby. Moonpaw jumped. Her heart beated frantically.

Silence.

Maybe it was just some prey. She sniffed the air and her stomach plumetted.

"Silver!" Twigpelt leapt into a beam of moonlight, cold anger flashing in his eyes as he shouted his nickname for Moonpaw. "Wingfoot's illness has turned to greencough- a bad bout. She needs all me. But it seems that Gingertail's kits have decided they can't wait any longer. Kitting is natural, but its not going as smoothly as we could hope and I can't be there. You help her." His eyes darkened. "We can discuss how you're currently _betraying_ SkyClan later."


	18. Chapter Seventeen

Twigpelt was silent as they walked back to camp. Only as they entered the clearing did he speak. "Mistblossom is with Lilypelt now. I have to join her. If you think Gingertail needs it, you can come to my den for herbs. But I'd prefer you left us alone, if possible."

Moonpaw nodded, bewildered. She tried to remember when Berrydapple was kitting, but that had been a fairly normal time, as far as she knew.

"Feel free to boss around any other cats if you need help," Twigpelt continued. "Fetching water, licking the kits when they come... anything. This is an emergency, after all."

He looked at her expectantly. Moonpaw realized she should be replying, but was too stunned to know what to say. "Um..." She mumbled something incoherent.

"Relax," Twigpelt meowed dryly. "This is a chance to show off, after all. Be happy."

"Wha- Hey!" Moonpaw yowled. "Don't just-"

"Hush! Other cats are sleeping. Go to the nursery." He dashed off.

Moonpaw shook her head to clear it and pushed her way into Gingertail's den.

"Moonpaw." Gingertail whispered the word, too out of breath to say it any louder.

"I'm here, Gingertail." What a dumb comment!

"The first kit is coming!" Gingertail said.

Remembering what Twigpelt did, Moonpaw said, "Breathe." She tried her best to stay calm.

Gingertail yowled several times and lashed out. Then she relaxed. The first kit had come. Moonpaw gave the queen a comforting lick. "You're doing well." Then the apprentice bent over to free the brown and ginger kit from the slimy sack covering it.

Gingertail relaxed for a heartbeat, catching her breath, before another jolt passed through her and she yelped with pain. "Fetch some water!"

Moonpaw nodded. "Do you need herbs, too?"

"I... Yes, that would be a good idea."

Moonpaw nodded and dashed away. Her heart thumped wildly as she wondered what to do first. She ran past the apprentices' den during her sprint to Twigpelt's den, and then backtracked.

"Briarpaw? Thrushpaw?" The two young cats slowly peered out of their den.

"What is it?" Briarpaw's eyes lit up. "Is it an emergency?"

"Yes. I need you two to get water for Gingertail- she's kitting. Find some clean snow and fold moss around it to melt it. Okay?"

"Okay!" both apprentices said in unison. Moonpaw nodded her head in thanks before turned back to the medicine cat's den. Twigpelt said not to bother him unless the need was great, but Moonpaw didn't what else to do but get herbs.

She slipped inside the crack in the rock. "Twigpelt, I-"

"Silver!" The brown tom jumped in front of her, eyes wild. "Get out of here! I told you not to come."

Moonpaw stumbled out. "But-"

"Tell me what you need, and _I'll_ get it."

"Um, Gingertail wants some medicine."

Twigpelt nodded curtly and ducked inside his den. A moment later he returned with a parcel of herbs.

Moonpaw scooped it up without thanking him and hurried away.

"I'm back, Gingertail."

The orange queen flicked an ear to acknowledge her, but was clearly in too much pain to say anything. Moonpaw gave her the herbs, which she swallowed promptly.

"The next kit!" Gingertail screeched. She whimpered in pain.

Moonpaw gently picked up the first kit and moved it out of the way. "Breath. In, out, in out. Stay calm."

But Gingertail's limbs thrashed as she yowled madly. "I can't!"

"Um..." Moonpaw had no clue what to say. "Just... Just do it anyways!"

The first kit mewled pitifully at the chaos.

Briarpaw and Thushpaw pushed themselves through the enterence.

"We got it!" Briarpaw said.

"What's happening?" Thrushpaw asked.

"Leave the moss here- it's a bit chaotic now." Moonpaw brushed a stray piece of bedding from her fur.

The apprentices reluctantly left. Moonpaw pushed the wet moss to Gingertail, who lapped some before another jolt passed through her.

"Push!"

Gingertail groaned in pain, then calmed.

Moonpaw lapped at the kit, drying and fluffing out its fur. She sniffed it. "They're both toms." The ginger kit was very small. Moonpaw was about to place it closer to Gingertail when the queen lashed out again.

"There's another one!"

This one, however, seemed less keen to hurry. Moonpaw stayed for ages, giving Gingertail water, calming her, warming the kits with gentle licking,

"I need Twigpelt!" Gingertail said.

"A-are you sure?"

"Of course! We need a real medicine cat!"

Moonpaw swallowed. "I already bothered him once-"

"I said to get him!"

Moonpaw closed her eyes. "Fine." The tabby leapt out of the den and walked across camp.

"Twigpelt?" she timidly called.

He didn't come to the entrance but merely called out. "_Now_ what is it?"

"Gingertail says she needs you."

A long sigh echoed through the den. "I suppose I'd better come." He stode out of the cave, herbs in his jaws.

"How's Lilypelt?"

"She's with Mistblossom."

Moonpaw's pelt prickled at this obvious dodge. "Can I see her?"

"No!" Twigpelt shrunk back after he said the word- he looked surprised at his own outburst.

Moonpaw's heart skipped a beat. "Why not?"

"I'm not going to stay with Gingertail, I'll just check on her. You'll need to be with her after that."

But after all that, Moonpaw _had_ to see her sister. "Can't I just see Lilypelt for a moment?"

Twigpelt waved his tail uneasily. "We need to get going_ now_."

_Is she..._ dead_?_

"You can visit her after Gingertail is done kitting."

Mistblossom's call came from within the den. "Are you sure you can leave Lilypelt?"

"There's nothing more I can do that you can't do."

The knowledge that her sister was alive comforted Moonpaw, but her heart still was thumping madly. Moonpaw dashed towards the nursery, as if her presence would hurry the next kit.

"Gingertail, it's me," Twigpelt said as he shoved past Moonpaw.

"It's almost done!" Gingertail panted. "I think this kit's the last."

Twigpel sighed. "I'll help. Silver, take care of the other two."

Moonpaw obediently curled around the tom kits, sheltering them from the cold air. Her angle made it impossible to properly see the kitting, but she was worried enough with the kits in her charge. The firstborn seemed healthy, but the other kit was very weak. She licked his ear. After several yowls from Gingertail, she heard a meow of relief from Twigpelt.

"Another tom!" he announced after licking the ginger and white kit clean.

"Three sons!" Gingertail purred. Moonpaw placed the first two by their mother to nurse. Gingertail nuzzled them all. "Are they healthy, Twigpelt?"

The brown medicine cat ran his gaze over them. "The ginger and brown one looks like he'll be a powerful warrior. I think the kit with the white throat and belly will be fine, too, if he doesn't catch greencough."

Gingertail nodded slowly. Moonpaw realized that she already knew the dismal chances of the smallest tom.

But Moonpaw had no time to fret. "Lilypelt," she prompted the tom.

He slowly got up. "No need to remind me. I'd never leave a patient if I could help it."

The fur along Moonpaw's spine stood on edge. _That's not true. You left Mistblossom's mother._

Twigpelt left the nursery first, but Moonpaw overtook him in her race to her sister.

She burst into the den. "Mother!" The tabby warrior was lying beside Lilypelt.

"Her fever broke," Mistblossom said. She sounded exhausted.

Twigpelt walked toward them. "Good." He sniffed Lilypelt's thick silver coat. "I think she'll live," he said, his voice nearly monotone.

"Were the kits born?" Mistblossom asked Moonpaw.

She nodded. "Three toms. Gingertail didn't name them, though."

"I'll ask her about the names tomorrow." Mistblossom slowly smiled. "I'm sure you were wonderful, Moopaw."

Moonpaw smiled too. Then she caught Twigpelt's dark gaze. A wave of déjà vu spread over her. Some memory tickled the back of her mind...

It came back in a flash. After Berrydapple's kits were born, Moonpaw had spotted grief in the medicine cat's face. It was so many moons ago, but Moonpaw still had no idea why it had happed.

"Silver, we need to talk."

Moonpaw's heart sank as she rose and followed Twigpelt out of his den- she knew what was coming. She didn't know why her sneaking out of camp at night had provoked Twigpelt so much.

But she didn't have long to wait.


	19. Chapter Eighteen

"Look, Twigpelt," Moonpaw said before Twigpelt could start his scolding, "I was just hunting at night. I'm not some big traitor-"

"'Just hunting at night?' Silver, no apprentice in SkyClan leaves camp without permission, much less at night, much less during a time when RiverClan could invade at any moment! You were sneaking out of camp when no cat would see you!"

Moonpaw shrunk back at his furious tone. "But you said that I was betraying SkyClan! Being disobedient isn't treachery."

Twigpelt's narrowed his eyes.

"I was just _hunting_! I was helping feed the Clan! I mean, I'm sorry for sneaking out, but-"

"I can hear the extreme regret and humility in your voice," Twigpelt said, heavy sarcamsm in his mew.

Moonpaw lashed her tail. "Just tell me why you're so angry!"

"Silver, you weren't 'just hunting.' I don't think selflessly helping the Clan was your top priority at all."

Moonpaw felt like a thorn was driven into her heat. "I- I really did want to help."

Twigpelt's tone softened- slightly. "I didn't say you didn't want to help. I just said that it wasn't your top priority."

Moonpaw glanced at the ground. "But..."

"I know you." Twigpelt said. "You just wanted to show off. You wanted cats to think, 'Even when she's disobedient, she's loyal!'"

"Twigpelt! I'm sorry! I really am."

The tom relaxed. "You could be a good cat, Silver."

"You sound like that's supposed to be a compliment."

Twigpelt changed the subject. "I'm going to tell Crimsonpelt."

Moonpaw scraped her claws against the ground. "But... how did you know?"

"That you wanted to show off? Moonpaw, your pride is obvious. I don't think you could've fooled anyone in the Clan- or, well, almost anyone."

Moonpaw gritted her teeth. She couldn't think of a single comeback. "Don't you have to take care of Gingertail's kit?"

"Yes, Silver, I do." He stood in place for another moment- probably, Moonpaw thought, to show that he wasn't taking orders from her. "You should try to get some sleep before training. Mind you, it's almost dawn already."

Moonpaw didn't move immediately.

"That was an order from the Clan medicine cat."

"Yes, Twigpelt," she growled.

* * *

_I decided to stop there because I'm taking forever to update and need to do it ASAP. I'll try to make the next one faster!_

_I need random trivia to make up for the shortness! Um... Mistblossom was going to be called Mistflower, but I decided that that was too much like Rainflower. Oh, and Jumpfoot's name is really Jumpstep. I just forgot and kept it Jumpfoot for consistency. So I'll always call him Jumpfoot, but he's really Jumpstep. XD_

_And Paleflower was once Dimflower but then I realized that that was dumb. And same thing for Gorsepelt, who was Spiritwarrior- gag, gag, gag. And Thrushpaw's prefix used to be Storm. And Mothstep (an elder) was once Prettystream. And Logtail was Stifftail._

_And that was way too many ands._


	20. Chapter Nineteen

_Okay, I wrote this chapter yesterday. And rushed to finish it because I wanted to get it to you ASAP. I was kind of surprised when the next morning there were no new reviews. I was sad when, throughout the whole day, I received no reviews._

_And I realized that somehow my upload had failed and my chapter wasn't even public. So here it is, at any rate. ;)_

_But still, I think there was something fishy going on with the server or something like that. I couldn't view my new chapter until after I re-uploaded (even long after the 30 minute restriction), but that's the only reason I have to think it didn't work. I am _really_ sorry if I ended up uploading this twice!_

* * *

"It's enough to feed Mothstep and Scareye," Crimsonpelt mumbled from around the prey he was holding. "Thrushpaw's learning climbing, but maybe Briarpaw will catch something that Logtail can eat."

"What about Tansy-" Moonpaw caught herself. The senior elder, Tansywhisker, had died of greencough during the two moons since Moonpaw stopped night hunting.

Crimsonpelt blinked. Moonpaw spotted a trace of sadness in his gaze. "Here." She quickly tried to change the subject. "Let me carry one of those." The tabby apprentice pulled the pigeon she had caught from him, leaving him encumbered merely by a mouse. She glanced at the sunset sky, wondering if there would be time for a quick battle practice before they went to their nests. She admitted to herself that she did feel a little jipped, what with being in training for about six moons and still spending the entire day hunting. Hunting duty was for the younger apprentices!

Then she recalled Twigpelt's words. "I didn't say you didn't want to help. I just said that it wasn't your top priority." Moonpaw scowled. Well, she'd show him. If she had to, she'd hunt every day for the Clan even if she'd rather practice battle moves. She put her muzzle into the air and picked up her pace as they headed to camp.

"Do you hear something?" Crimsonpelt said.

Moonpaw tried to speak, but her voice was muffled by feathers. Finally she simply shrugged.

"There's some kind of commotion."

Moonpaw bounded ahead, pricking her ears. Then she nodded.

_Chanting__? Has there been some kind of ceremony? _She couldn't imagine what- Barkkit and Flamekit were only two moons old, and _she_ was the eldest apprentice. They couldn't have been saying a new warrior's name. An elder ceremony, perhaps? Crimsonpelt picked up his pace, and the two raced closer to camp.

"Alright!" Brackenstar's nervous mew broke out above the yowls. "That's enough!"

Moonpaw pushed through the camp barrier, and could finally make out the words in the chant.

"Attack! Attack! Attack! Attack!"

Moonpaw dropped her pigeon to the earth. "What's going on here?" she yowled to Paleflower.

Her normally gentle friend was bristling, a snarl on her face. "RiverClan invaded!"

"What?"

"SkyClan!" Brackenstar screeched. "Quiet down!"

Twigpelt rolled his eyes. Sighing, he pushed up to the front of the crowd. Then he jumped onto the Great Stump. "On behalf of Brackenstar: Cats of SkyClan! Warriors, elders, apprentices! _Shut up_!"

The chanting stopped.

Twigpelt flicked his tail and smirked ever so slightly. He jumped off the stump. "Go on, Brackenstar."

"Clan mates." Brackenstar nervously scraped his claws against the wood. "RiverClan's open theft will not be ignored. I will take council with my senior warriors and the elders." He quickly left the Great Stump and slipped into his den. The cats he mentioned followed.

Twigpelt apparently invited himself and followed too.

The camp then erupted with chatter. "How did RiverClan invade?" Moonpaw asked.

"Brighteyes and Ringtail spotted five warriors deep within our territory. They were too outnumbered to attack, but Brighteyes sure wanted to! Ringtail practically had to pin her down."

Moonpaw unsheathed her claws. "We should attack! Remember when Whitetooth said that we should just overpower RiverClan with as many cats as we could muster?"

A smile crept up Paleflower's muzzle for a heartbeat. "Maybe you should go into Brackenstar's den and tell him that."

"You do think he'll decide to attack, don't you?"

"If you were Clan leader, wouldn't you?"

Moonpaw started to reply at once, but something new popped into her head. She paused to think about it. "Yes, I would. But I would do it because RiverClan needs to stop stealing our prey. Brackenstar will attack just to please his Clan mates. He doesn't _really_ believe in the battle."

"You don't _think_ he believes in the battle," Paleflower corrected. "You can't say that stuff about our leader!"

"What? Do you think I'm wrong?"

"Just- just show some respect."

Moonpaw's eyes glittered with annoyance. "Why should I?"

Paleflower jerked slightly. "Hello? You should respect _all_ warriors. You're just an apprentice."

"Not for long. If I go to the battle and don't completely mess it up, I'll be a warrior. I've been in training for six moons."

Paleflower looked irritated, but calmed down quickly. "I suppose so. Won't that be cool? I wonder what your name will be."

Moonpaw hadn't really thought about that for moons. "I'd like to be... Moonfire."

"Sounds too flashy to me." Paleflower bit her lip. "Maybe you're right about Brackenstar." Her voice was quiet. "I mean, you should still respect him. At least he has the forethought to not just listen to the Clan immediately. But... maybe he's not such a wonderful leader."

Moonpaw glowed, happy that her friend shared her opinion. But then she saw something in Paleflower's eyes... fear. Moonpaw was struck with the realization. Without a good cat in command, what would become of the battle?

"Do you think Brackenstar will choose me?" Paleflower twitched her tail nervously. "To come to the battle? I think I want to. Well, I guess I don't really want to _come_. I want to protect the Clan."

"I don't know who he'll pick," said Moonpaw

A flicker of humor returned to the white and gray she-cat. "Really? I thought you knew everything!" She became grim again. "I think he'll take you. You did wonderfully the last time we fought RiverClan. It was a good thing you smelled those foxes."

Moonpaw smiled.

"How did you smell them, anyways? I mean, you don't have that great of a nose."

"I just... did." But wait- that wasn't quite it. "Huh. I think... I think I just got a whiff of fox scent and, well..." Moonpaw tried to cast her mind back to the day. "Oh! I remembered this... this picture I got in my mind a while before the battle of foxes attacking by the river. And for some reason I freaked out and thought that was what would happen."

"But foxes _did_ attack by the river! I guess you received a vision from StarClan," Paleflower joked.

Moonpaw grinned. Then she remembered something her mother had said. "_A special name for a special destiny." _Twigpelt's prediction... it couldn't have meant that she would have special powers, would it?

"SkyClan!" Brackenstar strided out from under the Great Stump. "The battle plans have been arranged. We will attack at once!"

* * *

_There. Nice and long. _

_More random fun facts! Lichenstar was going to be a she-cat at first. But then I looked at the allegiances and thought that RiverClan had too many she-cats, so I made him a male. A good thing too, because back when he was a she, she was kind and wise. Male Lichenstar is so much more wonderfully evil!_


	21. Chapter Twenty

Brackenstar continued his speech. "I need Whitetooth, Branchtail, Berrydapple, Crimsonpelt, Lightningfur, Lilypelt, and Moonpaw. I will be leading the patrol. Rainbreeze shall be in charge of camp."

Moonpaw lashed her tail in excitement.

"Is it really wise to strike immediately?" Crimsonpelt called. "Perhaps you should wait until tomorrow."

"No! We must fight now!" screeched Gorsepelt.

Brackenstar shuffled his paws.

"We have to wait," said Twigpelt. "We need time to plan out everything exactly."

"Darkness will bring surprise!" said Branchtail. "I don't want to wait another moment!"

"But _we_ will be the ones in unfamiliar territory," said Scareye. "We need to wait for light."

"I say what I said before," Twigpelt hissed. "Think about it until sunhigh tomorrow."

"I'll wait for dawn, but no longer!" Branchtail called.

Brackenstar shrunk back from the yowling. "Fine, then. Dawn."

The meeting broke up, murmurings rumbling through the crowd. "Good thing Twigpelt persuaded him," Paleflower commented to Moonpaw. "I'd hate for you to attack too hastily."

Moonpaw wrinkled her nose. "I think we should have attacked while cats were still riled up and excited. And this delays my warrior ceremony!"

"_Seriously_, Moonpaw! Is that all you care about?"

"Moonpaw!" Crimsonpelt pushed his way towards her. "You'd better get some rest." He nervously pawed the ground. "Do you think you're ready? We could review some moves."

Moonpaw shrugged. "I think I'd be more ready if I just got plenty of sleep."

"Alight, then. Get to it."

Moonpaw ran to her den, nervous energy bouncing through her veins. She ducked underneath the rock that hang over the nests and curled into a mossy heap, but didn't close her eyes. She shivered with excitement. She forced her eyes shut. Then opened them again. Open. Shut. Open. Shut. Open. Shut. She finally yawned and settled into her bed.

* * *

Moonpaw blinked awake. A memory tickled her mind. A dream. She had dreamt of... oh, yes. She was running through the forest; running through her life. Then some cat said something. Something important. Then she had taken the wrong path through the woods and ended up in RiverClan territory, where she was attacked by a fox. An attack in RiverClan territory? Moonpaw shook her head to clear it. The battle was today! She chased the drowsy thoughts from her mind and leapt out of her nest.

"Moonpaw!" Brairpaw yelped. "Are you ready? Are you going now? I wish I was picked to go!"

"I'm not ready, and I'd better not be going now. I need to groom." Moonpaw began licking her tail.

Thrushpaw tossed a bit of moss up into the air and caught it. "Are you happy to go?"

"Couldn't be more!"

"Moonpaw!" Crimsonpelt's huge frame cast a shadow on the entrance. "You only have a few more minutes."

Moonpaw stepped outside, shaking with excitement. Brackenstar stood by the camp exit, holding his tail high.

"Are you positive you won't wait until sunh-"

"Yes, Twigpelt, he's positive. You've asked enough times," said Branchtail.

"Is every cat ready?" Brackenstar called.

"_You_ aren't," Twigpelt grumbled. Then he spotted Moonpaw. "Silver," he hissed under his breath, dashing over. "I'm not coming to the battle. Take this." He shoved a huge clump of cobwebs at her.

Moonpaw blinked. "How am I supposed to fight holding this?"

"You need it. Cats will be injured."

"What, did you receive a message from StarClan telling you that?"

"Not in so many words. Take it already."

There was no time to argue. The cobwebs would probably be useful at some point, anyways. She clenched them in her teeth and followed the group, which had just started moving.

"Oh, Moonpaw!" Mistblossom sped over. "Good luck." She licked Moonpaw's ear. "Stay safe."

Moonpaw nodded before turning away. The time had come.

* * *

The group paused at the river. There was probably no danger in going across - the ice was still thick and solid - but no one was used to crossing the border, and they all looked uncomfortable. Brackenstar included.

"Let's get on with it!" Branchtail finally said, but Brackenstar didn't move.

"Right, then!" Crimsonpelt pushed to the head of the group and advanced towards the stream. Brackenstar shook his head slightly and started moving forward at last.

"Stay quiet, everyone," he whispered.

Moonpaw stepped gingerly on the ice and pushed herself forward, sliding across. Berrydapple shoved her up on the bank. "This isn't a time for games."

Moonpaw shrugged and used her best stealth crouch, trying to show just how serious she could be. She picked up her pace enough walk with her half-sister. But Lilypelt looked _scared- _the cat who was extolled for her fighting skills at her warrior ceremony! Moonpaw opened her mouth to speak to her from around the webs, but shut it when she glanced at Berrydapple. Their group was so large that it was already noisy, so they couldn't risk any more sound.

After several minutes of walking, their path veered. Brackenstar must have scented a group of cats to fight. Within moments Moonpaw heard scrabbling and mewing. They walked silently for a few more moments. Moonpaw craned her neck, but she couldn't see any RiverClan cats. Then Brackenstar murmured, "SkyClan, attack!"

* * *

_This chapter wasn't extremely interesting. I wanted to make it a lot longer, but decided to upload sooner rather than later._

_Please review!_


	22. Chapter Twenty-one

Moonpaw strained her legs, running as fast as she could.

"You'll hunt on SkyClan territory for no longer!" Crimsonpelt yowled.

The silver apprentice saw the enemy now- a mere three warriors. They stood their ground, to Moonpaw's surprise. Moonpaw was outrunning many of her Clan mates. Then she slowed suddenly. What was she supposed to do with the cobwebs? She couldn't fight while holding them. Indecision plauged her and she fell behind. _Mouse dung__! _She would either have to fight with her claws only or leave the healing supplies behind- or just stand by the sidelines and wait for a cat to be injured, but that seemed silly. Her allies zoomed ahead, striking at the warriors. It looked like it wouldn't matter what Moonpaw did anymore; there was no room for her to attack. SkyClan pushed the enemy line back, farther and farther. RiverClan didn't stand a chance.

Moonpaw managed to run up and add herself to the SkyClan battle line, the stupid cobwebs still in her mouth. Suddenly the RiverClan warriors broke away, running straight ahead. Branchtail gave chase. Her Clan mates followed, but then the RiverClan cats swerved towards a thicket. Moonpaw dashed after them, fur bristling.

The RiverClanners reached the thicket.

The SkyClan cats dove for them.

Five RiverClan warriors emerged from behind the bushes. Four lunged at the battle line, and the first three cats started to fight back. Moonpaw found herself completely blocked by a brown she-cat. The she-cat lashed out, catching the tip of Moonpaw's ear.

But one enemy warrior hung back. "You SkyClan idiots!" Lichenstar sneered. "You brought _eight _cats to do a _stealth mission_? Really, Brackenstar, that's bad even for you. And the rest of you _actually listened to him_! Mousebrains!" He leapt forward and let out a yowl. At the noise RiverClan started to push the SkyClan line back.

SkyClan had no choice but to back off. Moonpaw hooked the brown cat's shoulder with her claws, but the she-cat surged forward and nearly knocked Moonpaw over. All of Moonpaw's allies were stumbling backwards. The Clan would have to withdraw to give themselves enough room to pounce.

But then Lichenstar showed that he wasn't really content with just driving SkyClan off.

The SkyClan battle line backed right into a team of four warriors. Moonpaw's legs buckled as Dropletpaw tried to pin her down. The SkyClan apprentice arched her back and managed to knock her foe off. Dropletpaw fell off, and Moonpaw struck at her belly before she could recover. Dropletpaw lashed out with her paws and clawed the older apprentice's shoulder, but Moonpaw got in a long swipe along Dropletpaw's entire stomach. The RiverClanner squeaked and fled. But no sooner did she leave then _another_ cat pounced on Moonpaw.

Moonpaw flopped uselessly to the ground. A quick glance upward showed her Clan mates in much the same state- beaten.

"Retreat!" Brackenstar said. "Run!"

Moonpaw wrenched herself away, still holding the webs. The tom who had jumped her hissed, "And don't come back," but he didn't give chase. SkyClan had already lost.

Before she followed the order, Branchtail gave one last blow to a black tom... Ravenfur, maybe? The tom, reeling from the hit, stumbled on a mouse-hole and collapsed.

Lightningfur swiftly nudged Berrydapple to her feet, before chasing after Brackenstar. Whitetooth and Crimsonpelt covered the escape while Moonpaw scrambled after them. _Almost there... just a little faster and you'll break away from the battle_.

Wait. _Where's Lilypelt?_ Moonpaw whirled around. Her half-sister was frozen a few fox-lengths back. Lilypelt's eyes were wide and she stood stone-still.

"Lilypelt!" Moonpaw called from around the webs. Lilypelt didn't move. Her gaze was fixed on Ravenfur's limp form. "Lilypelt, get over here!"

The warrior finally listened, and not a moment too soon.

"Pursue," Lichenstar said calmly. Several RiverClan cats looked surprised, but the order was instantly carried out. The SkyClan cats had only had a few heartbeats of a head start. Moonpaw turned away and fled. She could hear Lilypelt behind her, gasping panicked breaths. _Please, __StarClan, let us escape! _The RiverClan cats thundered on.

Moonpaw's feet churned the earth as she accelerated. Her heart felt like it just might explode. She could smell fear coming from her Clan mate, and they frantically sped up. The gap between them and RiverClan increased Branchtail actually managed to catch up to Brackenstar.

The run was panicked and wild. RiverClan _finally_ fell back, but the escape remained frenzied.

Suddenly Berrydapple screeched, "Branchtail, Brackenstar! Look ou-" The two cats couldn't slow down in time. In their haste they ran straight into the river. Branchtail slipped, hitting the ice with a thud, and skidded into a bed of snow. Brackenstar spun out of control, slamming into a rock.

The ice turned red.

SkyClan pushed towards him. The tabby was sprawled across the frozen stream. There was a gash in his head.

"Sweet StarClan!" Lightningfur gasped. Berrydapple recoiled from the sight.

Brackenstar moaned slightly.

"Excuse me," Moonpaw said. She slipped through and placed the wad of cobwebs on the wound, pushing slightly to block more blood from flowing out. "I'll need more webs soon."

"I can get them," Branchtail grunted.

"But you've just taken a fall!" Berrydapple said.

"Big deal." Branchtail shook the snow off her fur and headed out. She returned in a few moments with more of the bandages, which Moonpaw quickly made use of.

"Do you feel better, Brackenstar?"

"I'm fine; I can stand now," he groaned, not really sounding fine.

"Maybe you could if someone held the cobwebs on," Moonpaw said uncertainly.

"I'll do it," Whitetooth said. "We have to leave RiverClan territory.

* * *

"You're back!" Briarpaw bounced through the woods to them, a tree-length from camp. "Did you win? Are we-" she stopped. "W-what happened?"

Brackenstar looked at the ground.

"He slipped on the ice," Moonpaw said. "And... we lost, Briarpaw."

Briarpaw's mouth fell open. "We... lost." She fell in line with the returning warriors and dragged her paws all the way back to camp.

* * *

Twigpelt had been very displeased when he heard the news, but not very surprise. Sometimes Moonpaw wondered how much of Clan life Twigpelt concluded would happen and how much he knew from StarClan. He had enlisted Moonpaw's assistance in caring for the wounds. Maybe they had failed at the battle, but at least now Moonpaw could help undo the damage done.

She squeezed the horsetail's juice onto the scratch on Whitetooth's flank. "There you go." She looked up. "We're done with every cat, Twigpelt."

"Good. I've just about done all I can do with Brackenstar, too."

The golden tom sighed. "Can I go now?"

"Be my guest."

Brackenstar unsteadily started crossing the camp, and Whitetooth followed him

Moonpaw cleared her throat. "Twigpelt, last night-"

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Great Stump for a Clan meeting!"

"Oh, no," Twigpelt muttered.

_It must be about my warrior ceremony! _Moonpaw was so upset about losing the battle that she forgot all about it. She dashed over to the stump, misery forgotten.

But what about...

"Moonpaw, step forth."

Moonpaw gulped and leapt beside the tom.

"This day you courageously fought in battle, and your quick thinking and skill with healing saved me from the loss of a life." For once Moonpaw didn't glow at the praise. Really, there was no quick thinking involved - Twigpelt had been the one to think to give her the cobwebs, and it would take a rather stupid cat not to use them then.

"For these reasons," Brackestar continued, "I give you now your warrior name. I, Brackenstar of SkyClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Moonpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Moonpaw's mind raced. _Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no. Why did he have to have my ceremony _now?

"I..." The words caught in Moonpaw's throat. "I..." _Just say "I do!" _But she couldn't.

She just couldn't.

* * *

_Why, yes, this IS the first time I've updated in over a month. Why do you mention?_


	23. Chapter Twenty-two

Brackenstar looked like he simply didn't know what to do with an apprentice who refused to become a warrior. The crowd shifted awkwardly.

Moonpaw could make out a few of their words: "Is she just nervous to talk in front of all these cats?" Gorsepelt muttered almost inaudibly.

"_Moonpaw,_ too nervous?" Paleflower whispered. "Never!"

Brackenstar cleared his throat. "Moonpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect SkyClan, even at the cost of your life?"

"Yes! It's just that..." Everyone was staring at her. Mistblossom looked stunned, Lightningfur worried, Briarpaw confused, Twigpelt guarded, and countless others questioning.

"What?" Brackenstar said.

"I..." Moonpaw wished she could take back her words and go through the ceremony normally. She would do anything to undo the past minutes. Why, oh, _why_ couldn't she have talked to Twigpelt first? "I had a dream last night. At first I thought it was nothing, but..." The cats now looked a smidgen more surprised and a smidgen less incredulous. "I was walking through a maze of paths..." She decided to skip to the conclusion. "I think StarClan wants me to be a medicine cat."

The cats were stunned.

Moonpaw couldn't bare to look at Twigpelt; couldn't bare to see his reaction. "When we were walking back from the battle, I thought about my dream. I realized what it was about... Before we fought RiverClan that first time a few moons ago, I had received a... I guess it was a vision about the foxes. That's how I was the first one who knew that RiverClan was bringing foxes. I didn't realize it at the time, though." She looked at her paws.

Brackenstar looked more awkward than ever. "Oh. Wow."

"And I know some stuff about healing already." Moonpaw stared at the stump, at the sky, anywhere but Twigpelt. "So would it be... okay?"

Brackenstar pulled himself together. "What do you say, Twigpelt?"

Moonpaw still didn't look.

"I suppose I could take her on, if she's sure." He certainly didn't sound surprised at Moonpaw's claims of messages from StarClan. He didn't sound happy, either. Just grumpy.

"Alright, then!" Brackenstar sounded relieved.

Moonpaw continued looking down as she leapt off the stump. She didn't meet anyone's gaze as she hurtled straight out of camp.

Their stares burned into her.

She broke out and into the forest. She raced through, unwilling to stop, in case someone would catch her and start asking questions. Mistblossom would be shocked that Moonpaw would train under Twigpelt, Briarpaw would be dissappointed, Crimsonpelt would be confused, Lightningfur would be surprised, even _Twigpelt_ seemed like he was grumpy, Paleflower would be... Paleflower wouldn't mind.

At least that was one good thing.

_Oh, StarClan, did I do the right thing? I was so certain earlier. Now, everything's gone wrong._

Maybe this was a lesson in humility. _Well, I sure needed one of those,_ Moonpaw thought as she kicked a tree.

She might as well try to catch something; she might not have another hunting duty for a long time.

Could she deal with that? She knew that she could still hunt when she had free time, but a medicine cat's life was far less active than a warriors'. From that time long ago when she helped with Berrydapple's kitting, the silver she-cat had thought of healing as exciting. Still, dolling out watermint to cats will belly aches would hardly be a thrill.

But meeting with StarClan... Moonpaw would like that.

And then there was being trained under Twigpelt. Moonpaw never thought he was a _bad _cat, but he certainly did hate Mistblossom. And speaking of Mistblossom, what she said about Twigpelt still haunted her.

_"Twigpelt gave up on the Clan. He just gave up. I think he did try - or, I should say, tried to try. But he was angry and selfish and just didn't care. He did tend to the many sick cats. But he hardly tended to them. No cat knew what to say to him. He hated the Clan."_

Of course, Mistblossom was biased against Twigpelt - but she said that his lack of attention _killed _Honeyfur, Mistblossom's mother. That was why she hated him, but Moonpaw still didn't know why _Twigpelt_ hated _Mistblossom_.

And now Twigpelt would be her mentor.

Moonpaw hoped no one would find her until she could sneak back into her den.

* * *

_Yeah, so the chapter's kinda short. What's it to yah, bub?_

_Please review! It fills me with sunshine 'n' rainbows 'n' all things happy._


	24. Chapter Twenty-three

"Moonpaw, do you accept the post of apprentice to Twigpelt?" Brackenstar asked.

"I do." Moonpaw still continued looking at her paws. Which she had been doing since she woke up that morning.

"Then at the half-moon, we shall preform the formal ceremony at the Moonstone," Twigpelt said, sounding more like this was an unpleasent chore than anything remotely nice.

A reluctant mentor and a reluctant apprentice. Joy.

"Moonpaw," Mistblossom said. Yay, just the cat Moonpaw wanted to be chewed out by. But her mother didn't sound angry. "Honestly, there's no need to be scared; I'm not going to scold you. If StarClan _already_ has given you special powers, they might really want you to be medicine cat." Mistblossom's voice dropped to a whisper. "However-"

Moonpaw steeled herself.

"-we've talked about why Twigpelt isn't the most trustworthy cat you could know."

"I know, Mother. But if we can't rely on him to help the Clan, that's all the more reason why we need two medicine cats." That had influenced Moonpaw's decision.

"Yes." Mistblossom looked sad. "It isn't your fault he's wary of you being his apprentice, you know."

_It's because he hates you._ "Mother, why _does_ he dislike you so much?"

"Oh, I don't like him, and you already know that he thinks poorly of me for naming you Moonpaw."

_Yes, but for _some_ reason I get the impression that __he didn't start hating you just after I was born._

"Silver!" Twigpelt called.

Oh. Right, he was Moonpaw's mentor now. Even though the ceremony had been heartbeats ago, she had forgotten that training could start right away. At least this would mean avoiding talking to every other cat in SkyClan about her decision. "Coming, Twigpelt." She turned back to Mistblossom and whispered, "Wish me luck."

"Come on, we're gathering poppy seeds. Flamekit has a cold, and it has been giving him headaches," Twigpelt said stiffly. He took them on a small path traveled on less than others.

It had snowed during the night, covering the ground with a mouse-length of whiteness. Moonpaw's paws quickly became chilly, but she blocked out the pain. "Why are you so cross with me?" she asked bluntly. "Do you think I'm not supposed to be a medicine cat?"

Twigpelt sighed deeply. "I can't know for sure, but... I think you made the right choice."

"Then why...?"

"I suppose..." Twigpelt looked at her critically. "You better not change your mind again. Never, ever go back to being a warrior. You already made your decision."

"Of course I did. I'm not going to back out. Why do you think I would?"

"You switched your apprenticeship once."

Moonpaw shot a steely, skeptical look at him.

Twigpelt sighed again. "If you're going to stick with it... if you will, then I have nothing against you." _Nothing aside from my name, my mother, and my pride. "_Silver, I'm glad you decided to become a medicine cat. I think... this is what you're meant to do. And I mean that. And if StarClan accepts you..." He trailed off.

Moonpaw's heart skipped a beat. _If_ StarClan accepts her? She opened her mouth to ask, but Twigpelt stopped dead in his tracks.

"We're here." He waved his tail at some ancient, dead-looking poppy pods. "Start plucking."

* * *

_Wow, that was short. And dull. But I _needed_ to update. In our next heat-racing, enthralling installment, Moonpaw goes to the Moonstone._

_Happy Thanksgiving!_

_..._

_Oh, yeah, random trivia. When I was renaming this from _Moonlit Path_ to _Moonlit Path: Disloyal Hearts, _I really, really wished I could name it _Pride and Prejudice._ It fits the story almost perfectly. Why did that name have to be taken already?_


	25. Chapter Twenty-four

_Bleh. I realize that the drama in this story is very much dampened by the fact that you can only read the chapters once I write them. And I'm writing them very slowly. I'm sorry! I think that the next chapter will be faster, now that Christmas is over._

* * *

"And then there's burdock root. For rat bites and other infection." Twigpelt lifted his head. "Ah, there's Thornflower. And that's her apprentice, Hollyheart."

Moonpaw leapt into the air with excitment. For all her various misgivings about becoming a medicine cat apprentice, she couldn't wait until she got to dream at the Moonstone.

"Hello, Twigpelt," said one of them, an elderly brown tabby she-cat. She spotted Moonpaw. "Greetings. It's Moonpaw, right?" The small gray she-cat beside the ThunderClanner gave Moonpaw a curious sniff.

"Yes." Moonpaw respectfully dipped her head, trying to leave a good first impression.

"But her name-" Hollyheart started.

"She's my new apprentice," Twigpelt interrupted.

"Ah," said Thornflower. "Congratulations!"

"Um, thanks."

"There's Shineheart," Hollyheart said.

Moonpaw wipped her head around and looked cooly at the RiverClan medicine cat, a round yellow she-cat.

"Greetings, everybody!" She waved her golden tail cheerfully. "Twigpelt, what's Moonpaw doing here?"

"New apprentice," said Hollyheart.

"Oh. Good luck." The she-cat gave a curt nod.

Moonpaw gave the tiniest of nods, too, and stood up straighter. Twigpelt nudged her and growled, "Relax. She's another medicine cat."

Moonpaw shrugged.

"Come on, everyone!" Thornflower nudged her apprentice and bounded off. Moonpaw gave another excited hop and followed. After a few hours, they were at Mothermouth. The silver tabby had never seen the sacred cave before. She shivered slightly.

Two cats stood outside, one smelling of WindClan and the other ShadowClan.

"Poolsplash is the one on the right," Twigpelt whispered. "The other one's Elmbark, the WindClan medicine cat."

Moonpaw nodded. The other medicine cats exchanged small talk during the journey through the black tunnels, but nothing particularly interesting. Hopefully she wouldn't have long to wait before the good part started.

The fact that she really truly would meet with StarClan in a few minutes suddenly struck her with new force.

As the pathway wound this way and that, Moonpaw spotted a brilliant white light reflecting off a wall. She heard Hollyheart bounce excitedly, but Poolsplash wasn't impressed. She sighed. "We're late."

"Nonsense," Thornflower said. "The Moonstone may already be prepared, but we'll have plenty of time. Now hush; you know that we aren't to talk too much in here."

Twigpelt picked up his pace. Moonpaw pushed herself to keep up. Maybe light was now in sight, but she still didn't want to leave her guide.

The tunnel curved sharply. Moonpaw approached it and peered around. A light met her gaze. It was both calm and twinkly like a star, and fierce and bright like a raging fire. She blinked against the beautiful silver-white glow.

"Moonpaw," Twigpelt started, "is it your wish to enter the mysteries of StarClan as a medicine cat?"

"Yes."

"Then come here," Twigpelt said. Moonpaw complied. "Warriors of StarClan, I present you with this apprentice. She has chosen the path of a medicine cat. Grant her your wisdom and insight so that she may understand your ways and heal her Clan in accordance with your will."

"Stick your nose against the stone," Twigpelt commanded. Moonpaw instinctively drew back for a heartbeat. What if her name _was_ an insult to StarClan? What if her ancestors made her change it? Or would they simply refuse to let her be a medicine cat?

"Go on!" Twigpelt nudged her forward.

Moonpaw gulped.

Then she plunged forward.

The cavern melted away underneath her paws.

She opened her eyes. Golden light filled the forest. It wasn't night _here_. But... it couldn't be day; there were stars in the sky.

And the stars were coming down.

To _her._

"Greetings." The whole crowd of cats seemed to say the word as one.

"Greetings," Moonpaw whispered.

Twigpelt wasn't there with her, Moonpaw realized. He wasn't there. Why wasn't he there?

"Welcome," they said, all as one, "to the realm of the stars. We welcome you to prophecies. We welcome you to omens. We welcome you to this path."

"Do... do you have something to say to me?"

A black cat stepped forward. Briarpaw's father, Jumpfoot, who died of greencough. "Walk with me."

Moonpaw followed him through the forest.

"StarClan is glad of your decision to become a medicine cat."

"It was the right one, then?"

"You already know that it was."

Moonpaw looked at her paws. "It is good to see you again, Jumpfoot." Here she was, talking to a cat who was dead! "Tell me, please. What does StarClan think about my name?"

Jumpfoot sighed. "Your mother was unwise to pick it."

"But... it's my name, Jumpfoot. I can't do anything about it."

"Mistblossom's heart wasn't in the right place when she named you. But one day, you will have a choice. A choice to do something about it."

A choice? To change her name? Moonpaw would think that she could do that on any day. Why "one day"?

"When? When will I know it's time to change my name?"

Jumpfoot blinked. "Your choice shall be made after the battle in which Twigpelt and Mistblossom die. And then you must die also."

"_What?!_" All three of them would _die?_

"But listen!" Jumpfoot gaze grew severe. "The reason why I tell you this is because you _must_ put StarClan and SkyClan first. And you _must_ give up your life."

Then the starlit forest began to fade away.

"Apprentice, you must learn from other's mistakes. And you must learn from their successes. _Then_ you will make your choice correctly."

* * *

_Merry Christmas, everyone. I know I haven't updated for a really, really long time - sorry! If I were you, I would be convinced that this story was dying. But worry not. Even though I am updating very, VERY slowly, I promise that, barring death and divine intervention, I'll finish this story._

_Also, I was reading _Yellowfang's Secret _for the first time yesterday (still haven't quite finished), and I thought "dang, this a _lot_ like _Moonlit Path_." And it is, isn't it?_

_Reveiws are much enjoyed!_


	26. Chapter Twently-five

_Happy new year, y'all! I hope 2013 is a good one._

* * *

"Have we found enough burdock roots yet?" Paleflower asked.

"Almost." Moonpaw wrenched another from the earth. Her claw broke as she pulled it free. "Mousedung!" She gave it a check to make sure it wasn't bleeding. "The ground's really much too hard to be digging. It's so cold!"

"But it _is_ the best thing for infected wounds, right?"

"Pretty much." Wild garlic also was good, but there wasn't exactly much of that with all the snow.

"We have six large roots," Paleflower said. "How many do we need?"

"Twigpelt wants eight."

Paleflower sighed and started scrabbling away at another patch of ground. "How're you two getting on? You learning much about herbs?"

"I guess so."

The warrior shot her a steely look. "Moonpaw, what's the matter? You've been as talkative as a stone lately!"

_The matter is that I've just received a prophecy foretelling my death, and my mother's, and my mentors._

"You've been like this for what, four days? Ever since the half-moon! If there's something I can help you-" She paused. "The half-moon. Was there something that StarClan told you?" Paleflower flinched. "Oops. I'm not supposed to ask about that."

"No."

"We-ll..." Paleflower shuffled her paws uncomfortably. "Let's just get on with these roots. My paws are about to turn into ice."

"Okay." Moonpaw sniffed around, tracking the root's scent. "Here we are!" She slowly scraped away the frozen earth. Great StarClan, her claws ached. She inhaled deeply, trying to pick up the precise location of the medicine.

She picked up another scent instead.

Paleflower smelled it, too. "Not RiverClan _again!_ Can't they learn to leave us alone?"

"We didn't really show them much with our last attack."

Paleflower sighed. "It's fresh. We'd better follow it."

"I'd guess that some of their cats are on our territory right now." _It smells like there're only two, maybe three cats. _That couldn't be enough to really count as a battle, could it? And Twigpelt was busy in camp, treating Rainbreeze's cold. He couldn't possibly show up. So this definitely was _not_ going to be the battle Jumpfoot told her about.

Paleflower held out her tail, indicating for Moonpaw to stop. "There."

Two young warriors were walking, five fox-lengths from Moonpaw and her friend, through the woods and towards RiverClan territory. One of them, a black and gray tom with yellow eyes, held a squirrel in his teeth.

"Come on," Paleflower whispered. "Let's creep up on them."

A trickle of fear ran through Moonpaw as a new thought occurred to her. "What if it's a trap?"

"Any RiverClanners lying in wait for us would have to had disguised their scents pretty well. RiverClan has the strongest smell of all the Clans, you know that."

"But I don't want to take any chances."

"We can't let them get away with a plump squirrel. If you have any ideas about the best way to stop them, let's hear it. Otherwise, just get on with it."

"I... Maybe we should do the Sky-drop. That could startle them. Then that tom could drop the fresh-kill."

Paleflower nodded. "Sounds good."

What if this was a big mistake? What if Moonpaw ended up _starting _the battle that would kill Twigpelt, Mistblossom, and her?

_Moonpaw! Relax; nothing bad is going to happen! It's only two cats!_

Paleflower leapt soundlessly up a pine tree. It was a good choice, Moonpaw noted. Since it was the only tree around that hadn't shed its leaves, they'd be covered. The silver medicine cat's apprentice carefully climbed into a good position. The two RiverClan cats slowly approached their hiding place.

"Do you hear something?" the blue-gray she-cat whispered to her ally.

"Quit it, Streamtail. You've been jumping at shadows ever since we entered SkyClan territory."

"Just wait for a moment." Streamtail stopped - right before entering Moonpaw's range of attack. _Mousedung! _"Listen."

The tom twitched an ear. "Probably just... a bird."

"I think I smell SkyClan cats."

The black and gray tom hissed. "This is SkyClan _territory!_ Of _course_ you smell SkyClan!"

"Okay, okay, Hornetclaw," Streamtail sighed. "Let's just hurry out of this place."

"Fine by me."

Oh, no. They were approaching Moonpaw's branch. She had to jump. Soon.

Her limbs were frozen.

_Come on, Moonpaw! Don't be a mousebrain!_

Maybe this was a breach of the medicine cat code. Yeah. Maybe it wasn't just that she didn't _have_ to attack them. Maybe she was _obligated _not to attack.

_Or maybe there are two RiverClan cats blatantly breaking the warrior code by stealing food your Clan _desperately_ needs, and you, medicine cat or not, need to stop them. Even if that could maybe possibly start something vaguely resembling a battle._

Okay, then. Moonpaw knew she had to attack already.

She also knew that she wouldn't.

They were right under the tree now. It was the time for Moonpaw to jump.

She stayed right where she was.

She couldn't do anything even remotely relating to starting a battle. And she wouldn't. Even though she knew she should.

Paleflower nodded at Moonpaw - a gesture that was ignored - and leapt.

But Moonpaw didn't look to see if her friend struck one of the warriors.

The medicine cat's apprentice scrambled down the pine, using the side facing away from the warriors.

And Moonpaw ran.


	27. Chapter Twenty-six

_Turn back. Now._

Moonpaw wouldn't.

The yowels of the cats behind her faded away as she ran. As if there wasn't even a fight going on.

She had no idea where she was going. Back to camp, maybe? _No way! _Moonpaw launched herself over a fallen log, stumbling slightly as she landed.

She was going to die. And her mother and mentor would, too.

_Turn back, idiot._

_No._

When would she stop running? She wouldn't be able to tell when the battle -_ It's not a battle; it's a _fight! - ended. It could already be over, and Moonpaw would be none the wiser. Would she run until she thought the battle had to be over? What if she was incorrect? And what if something went horribly wrong, and Paleflower... died?

_I'll probably just run until I cannot take another step._

Moonpaw felt dizzy. Was she sick?

No. But she was about to die, and that amounted to about the same thing.

Paleflower must have been wondering where Moonpaw was. Why Moonpaw hadn't attacked. Why she abandoned her.

And why _did _she abandon her?

_Because I'm going to die! For real! I am going to lose _everything.

The apprentice's forepaw landed on a rock. She tumbled onto the ground and her body did a somersault. She immediately heaved herself back up and continued running.

She was being a mousebrain. An idiot. A, illogical, greedy foxheart. And she knew it.

Moonpaw had totally lost her breath. She slowed down. But she couldn't stop.

StarClan had ordered her to die. It was one thing to have her death prophesied. Moonpaw remembered back when she was a kit, and the insults she told her sisters when they had a bad fight. "You're being mean, Lilypaw! Drop dead!"

And now a StarClan warrior had ordered her to drop dead.

Pleasant.

Thorns ripped at Moonpaw's pelt as she plunged through a bramble bush.

For some reason, in her panic, Jumpfoot's words seemed far more terrifying, far more real. _"You must die also."_

Her head throbbed.

Moonpaw collapsed, and fainted.

* * *

"Moonpaw! What wrong? Did a badger chase you?"

Moonpaw's eyes snapped open.

She glanced at the sky. The sun hadn't moved one bit. Moonpaw guessed that she was only knocked out for a couple of minutes.

Flamekit's wide yellow eyes gazed down at her.

"Flamekit? What... what are you doing?"

"Nothing! I mean... Gingertail took us out for a walk."

"Is she alright?" Barkkit asked.

"Well, she can talk okay."

"Moonpaw," Barkkit said, "was it a badger? Is it after you? Don't worry, I'll scratch it in the eye. Badgers are real tough. You can't scratch their skin. But I'm gonna pounce on its back so it can't bite me, and then I'll claw it's eyes and leap down before it shakes me off."

"No-no-no, Barkkit!" Flamekit shook his head overenthusiastically. "We can't just fight a badger by ourselves. We should get Gingertail. She'll help us scratch it in the eye!"

Moonpaw touched a paw to her aching head.

"Okay, Flamekit, you get Gingertail. I'm bigger than you, so I'll hold the badger off."

"Alright!" Flamekit whirled around and took two bounds before turning back to Moonpaw. "Um, _was_ it a badger?

"No."

"Oh! Sorry." The tom scuffled his white paws on the ground. "What _is_ wrong?"

_Well, for one thing of many, I'm going to be killed. _"There was... Some RiverClan cats invaded, and I..." _I got scared. Of a couple of dopey RiverClan cats. Seriously, Moonpaw?_

The kits gasped. "Are they attacking?" Barkkit asked. "Should we go get help?"

"N-no, it's not an attack. I don't think we need backup."

Flamekit cocked his head. "Then why'd you faint?"

"Um... I suppose there isn't a real good reason." Shame burned inside Moonpaw. She was so scared... over nothing... The silver tabby slowly got to her feet and licked the scraps of leaves off her pelt.

Gingertail emerged from the undergrowth. "Is something the matter?"

"I... I hope not." Moonpaw looked away. "Some RiverClan cats stole a squirrel. That's all. Um... I need to find Paleflower."

Heart sinking with the weight of guilt, Moonpaw began trudging back to where Paleflower and she had been gathering roots. Oh, why did she have to panic over nothing like that?

She began seriously wondering if she should tell Twigpelt. She doubted it, since it had predicted that he would die. But if she didn't tell anyone, she would melt into a puddle, evaporate, and die.

She sniffed the air. Paleflower was near. Moonpaw picked up her pace, desperate to see if the warrior was alright. The silver tabby rounded a corner. And then, her friend was in view. The RiverClan cats were gone. Paleflower crouched by the pine tree, breathing heavily. _Well, at least she _is_ breathing._ Moonpaw sighed with relief.

Paleflower looked okay.

But mild claw marks had scored across the warrior's white and gray pelt, and there was a bite mark on her ear.

She looked up at Moonpaw. And she was _not _happy.

* * *

_I'm going out of town tomorrow, and won't be back until Friday night. So the next chapter will be a little slower than this one. But keep an eye out for our next totally enthralling installment: Moonpaw gets yelled at! *Rocous cheering* Yay, woo-hoo, yeah! Totally radicool, huh?_

_Reviews much appreciated! Your comments mean a lot to me._


	28. Chapter Twenty-seven

_Alright, so there's good news and bad news. The bad news is that this chapter is short. That is because I wrote far past where this chapter ends, but then decided that it was taking too long and submitted just this section. The good news: that means that I'll upload the next chapter really quickly (since I already started it). So you can expect the next installment either tomorrow (the 14th of January, for those of you who aren't sitting at your computers refreshing every five minutes so you can read Moonlit Path the second it updates) or the day after that, the 15th._

_Oh, and my trip went quite well, thank you._

* * *

"What _happened, _Moonpaw?" Dismay filled Paleflower's voice. "Where were you?"

"I..." There wasn't really that much Moonpaw could say to defend herself.

The hint of anger in Paleflower's eyes shifted to concern. "Did something go wrong?"

"I was... I just panicked. I ran away."

"'Just _panicked_'?! Moonpaw, you're no coward. You've fought a fox - more than once, I might add - and you've took on other warriors lots of times. But when _two_ measly RiverClanners invade, you 'panic'. You abandoned me! And now you say that you 'just panicked.' I'm not a mousebrain, Moonpaw. Tell me why you left me to take on enemy warriors all on my own."

Moonpaw wished that there was a way to avoid this entire messed-up conversation. "I'm... sorry. I was just scared of getting hurt." _Well, killed. _"That's all, really."

Paleflower looked at her with shock, disbelief... and a healthy dose of utter disgust. "Well, maybe sometime you should stop and think about helping the Clan. Sometime when you're not too busy being scared of getting hurt." She turned away, hissing, "I'm your _friend_, Moonpaw. And you turned your back on me. _I_ could have 'gotten hurt."

But Moonpaw _did_ have justification. She couldn't let one of her best friends think she was a _total _yellow-bellied, selfish traitor. "I received a prophecy from StarClan. The reason I was afraid of getting hurt is that they told me that I would die in battle. Th-they told me I'd die, Paleflower!"

Paleflower whirled back around, mouth hanging open slightly. "They... they told you _what?_"

"They said that I would die."

Paleflower's eyes gleamed with worry and shock. "W-when? I mean, did they say it would be soon?"

"No." Moonpaw bitterly raked the ground with her claws. "Actually, they said that I would die in the same battle where Mistblossom and Twigpelt die!"

The white and gray warrior took a step back. "I... I don't think you're supposed to tell me all this, Moonpaw."

She was right, of course. But what else could Moonpaw say?

The apprentice sighed. "I... Oh, Paleflower, I'm scared! More scared than I've ever been before."

Paleflower dipped her head and licked Moonpaw's ear. "It's... Moonpaw, I don't know what..." She trailed off. "But medicine cats aren't supposed to tell warriors about prophecies unless they need to, right?"

"I know that!"

"Then..." The she-cat stomped a paw. "Oh, I don't know! I've never heard of someone breaking that rule before! What happens when cats do stuff like that?"

"I don't know, either."

"Maybe you should ask Twigpelt."

That would be kind of hard to do, considering that Moonpaw hadn't even told him about the prediction. How do you tell a cat that he's going to die?

Paleflower closed her eyes tightly. Then she stood up and began walking stiffly away. "I'm going to get the burdock roots."

"W-wait! What happened with the battle? Are you alright? Did you win?"

"Does it look like I'm carrying a squirrel to _you_?" Paleflower snapped. "Oh, and I don't really see how having a cat say that you'll die at the same time two other cats die makes a difference when it comes to a skirmish were _neither_ of the cats in question are there."

Moonpaw took a step back. "Look, I'm about to die! I'm sorry that I left you, I really am, but-"

"Oh- oh- I'm sorry!" Paleflower wailed. "I shouldn't have yowled at you like that. I was angry. It's just that you... Oh, I'm sorry! But I... I can't... Oh, forget it all!" Paleflower turned away once again, and ran.

This time she didn't look back.

"Ohhhh!" Moonpaw moaned to herself. "I messed up _again!_ Why do I have to be such a mousebrain?"

And now she didn't know _what_ to do.


	29. Chapter Twenty-eight

Moonpaw gazed at the camp enterance. Did she really have to go in? Twigpelt would ask where the roots were. And the kits and Gingertail would be all abuzz, what with Moonpaw leaving them with so little information when she left.

The silver apprentice felt somewhat better after telling Paleflower her secret, but the relief was almost completely negated by the guilt of breaking a rule.

Right after she had left the moonstone, Twigpelt had asked her if there was anything she wanted to tell him about her visit to StarClan. Moonpaw had said no, obviously - she couldn't very well just inform her mentor that he was going to die. But maybe she should say something to him...

_No!_

But she couldn't just leave everything to rot. Moonpaw took a deep breath and entered camp.

It was between sunhigh and sunset, and a batch of patrols and hunting parties had just returned. The clearing was full of cats chattering.

Moonpaw noticed Barkkit and Flamekit animatedly describing something to a group of younger cats. "And she said that RiverClan was invading!"

"But if it _had_ been a badger, I would have scratched it in the eye!"

Oh, dear. She had better hurry up and explain the invasion to Brackenstar, since there clearly was absolutely no chance of keeping it secret, even if Moonpaw wanted to. She hadn't thought much about it earlier. Her mind was filled with other things.

"Hello, Moonpaw!" Wingfoot, her half-sister, called. "I just heard that Briarpaw's going to get a new mentor soon. Branchtail finally decided to move to the nursery. I'm glad; that should probably be better for her kits. Hopefully it will be newleaf by the time they're born. I wonder... Moonpaw, is something wrong?"

"Yes." Moonpaw didn't care who knew anymore. "Bye."

"_Wait! _What-"

Something else had occurred to the tabby apprentice. She, Mistblossom, and Twigpelt were all to die on the same day. It seemed like an awful coincidence that three such intertwined cats would all leave for StarClan at the same time. Unless, of course, their deaths would be connected.

Moonpaw swerved away from her route to the leaders den - from the scent, she guessed that he wasn't even there. Instead, she strode towards the medicine cat's den.

Twigpelt looked up from sorting some watermint leaves. "Ah, you're back." He stretched. "I think I found a pretty good mix of herbs for Rainbreeze's cold. He's resting in his own den now. Where's the burdock root?"

"Why does Mistblossom hate you?"

The brown tom stared at her.

"Why?" she repeated.

"I do believe that _I_ just asked _you_ a question. You would do well to answer it."

"This is important. Tell me!"

Twigpelt yawned and sharpened his claws on the stone wall. "Burdock roots are pretty important, too."

"Yeah, well I think my question's more important. And you want to know why?"

"Actually, n-"

"Because," she snarled, "the three of us are all going to die on the same day!"

Twigpelt jerked up. "Wh- what- when..."

"StarClan told me at the half-moon." Moonpaw hadn't _meant_ to tell him the prophecy. It had just... slipped out?

"Silver..."

"And so," she said, putting on a nonchalant tone, "I was kind of wondering why we'd all die. It's going to be during a battle, you know. And I thought, maybe the two of you will grab each other and fight to the death. And maybe a RiverClan warrior was about to kill me, but you were too busy shredding each other to notice. And so the RiverClan cat would kill me, Mistblossom would kill you, and you would kill Mistblossom."

"Silver!" Twigpelt's eyes flashed wildly as his fear-scent filled the air. "Stop that!"

The tom closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath to compose himself.

Several moments passed before he opened his eyes. "Silver," he said coolly, "stop being ridiculous. Neither Mistblossom nor I would ever kill a Clan mate-"

"That," Moonpaw said, "may be the nicest thing you've ever said about my mother."

"What is _wrong_ with you?" Twigpelt hissed. "You've gone mad! Just haphazardly plowing through... through... everything! Demanding I tell you secrets, informing me I'm going to die... I don't even want to _know_ what else you did today!"

Moonpaw scratched her claws violently against the earth. She knew she was being a total jerk. But the knowledge didn't make her feel any better.

"Listen, Silver. You've... If you told me the truth about this... prediction, then you have every reason to be upset and every reason to act poorly. But your Clan needs you, and you can't just give up. You have to stay loyal-"

"You're a hypocrite."

"_Excuse_ me?"

"When your mentor died, you abandoned the Clan. Two cats _died_ because you left them! And I get the impression that you never apologized. _Did_ you apologize?" she challenged.

Twigpelt stared at her. "Silver-"

"Yes or no."

"I don't have to answer with a yes or no if I-"

"_Yes or no._"

Twigpelt let out a long hiss. "No, but-"

"Alright, then. And it wasn't just that time, either. After that first battle this leafbare with RiverClan, you were so upset that Jumpfoot died of greencough that you _ignored_ the fact that there were three injured cats right in front of you, asking you to help them! You didn't really learn anything since your mentor's death, did you?"

"Stop that!" Twigpelt yowled. "_You_ wouldn't know. _You've_ never had a cat close to you die!"

"But I _will_! The prophecy-"

"And you most certainly will _not_ screech about your prophecy loud enough for the whole Clan to hear!"

"You're louder than I am."

"That," Twigpelt snarled, "is exactly the kind of argument a kit would make. Now, _go away_."

"Sure, send me away. Looks like you're running from your problems - _again_."

"What do you think _you've _been doing all day?"

"Oh. Alright, then. I made a mistake too - _that_ makes you killing Honeyfur okay." Moonpaw whirled around and stormed off.

* * *

_Many thanks to everyone who wrote a review! It's really encouraging to read through my review archives._


	30. Chapter Twenty-nine

It was warm. Relatively speaking, of course. Leafbare hadn't ended _yet_.

Briarpaw squirmed out of her mossy bedding. It was SkyClan tradition for medicine cats not to move to the medicine cat's den until they gained their full names.

"Come on, Thrushpaw!" Briarpaw squeaked. She began jabbing her brother with a forepaw.

"I'm _awake!_" The tom jumped up, throwing the tortoiseshell off. He bopped her head with his paws. Briarpaw growled playfully and lunged at him. Thrushpaw dodged, but Briarpaw attacked again, pinning him on his bed.

A piece of moss hit Moonpaw in the eye. "Quit it!" she snarled.

The younger apprentices froze.

Moonpaw shouldered her way past them and stormed over to the medicine cat's den. She paused. Could she really meet with Twigpelt? That certainly wouldn't go well. But Moonpaw felt terrible. Everything about yesterday had been a disaster. She felt sure that helping her Clan in some way would cheer her up. Maybe she'd go hunting.

Moonpaw licked her ruffled fur down hastily - no cat could afford to have a good long grooming in this harsh season - and headed back to the apprentice's den. She poked her head in. "Tell Twigpelt that I'm going hunting," she commanded.

"Feeling rude today?" Briarpaw said.

Thrushkit nudged his sister. "Be polite, Briarpaw!"

Moonpaw hurried over to the camp exit. In all honesty, the only reason she wanted the apprentices to tell Twigpelt was that he couldn't very well tell her she couldn't go if she wasn't there. Well, it wasn't the _only_ reason. She knew that any encounter with the brown medicine cat would be a disaster. She had practically accused him of murder. Okay, fine: she had _literally_ accused him of murder. And he literally committed murder by neglecting Honeyfur. _But really,_ Moonpaw thought as she crept through the forest, _how can a medicine cat give sick cats herbs and water yet still be bad enough for someone to notice how terrible they're being?_ Mistblossom had said that Twigpelt had done these things, but she still said that he was practically abandoning Honeyfur.

Moonpaw had to admit that she probably didn't know that much about being a medicine cat. What _was_ there to healing besides giving out herbs and water? Yet even Mistblossom had known that there was more than that - and when she was a _kit_, no less!

Unless she was... lying.

No, she couldn't have lied. Twigpelt had looked stunned when Moonpaw accused him, but not confused or anything like that. Mistblossom must have just known a lot about medicine.

Moonpaw spotted a rustling in the leaves. She tasted the air - mouse. The she-cat bent down into position and stalked forward, her mouth watering in anticipation. She was so busy recently that she hadn't done any hunting at all since she became a medicine cat. And now, finally, she would make a kill.

Her gaze followed the twitching leaves. There! She pinpointed the creature's location. Then, she leapt.

The rodent let out a squeal of shock as Moonpaw dug her claws into its flesh. The she-cat scooped it up and flung it against a tree. Then she pounced again, and repeated the throwing process. After this second blow, the mouse stayed still, stunned, for half a heartbeat. Time to finish it off.

This time, Moonpaw slammed it against the ground with so much force that its spine cracked. The rodent went limp.

The apprentice examined it. She had succeeded in killing it without breaking the skin - perfect.

Smiling, Moonpaw scraped a little grave in the cold ground and stored the fresh-kill inside. She could probably catch something else before she had to return.

"Don't forget to thank StarClan for your catch."

"Wha- oh." Moonpaw sighed. "Alright." She closed her eyes and dipped her head. "StarClan, thank you for the life of this prey. I kill not for sport, but that my Clan can eat. Once again, thank you." She opened her eye. "There. That good enough?"

He gave a grunt of affirmation. "You're welcome." Jumpfoot licked his forepaw.

"Yeah, well, I have to-" She did a double-take. "_Jumpfoot_?"

"Yes?"

"Um, you're kind of dead."

He smiled. "You are a medicine cat. I can show up to you when I want to - or need to."

"Need to?"

The spirit nodded. "Young one, there is a reason why we usually do not want cats to tell others about the prophecies they receive."

Moonpaw scraped her claws against the earth. "This is about Paleflower."

"Correct. Paleflower does not have anything to do with what I told you about your death. All you did was make her worry. She is your friend and Clan mate - she cares about you. And now she is bogged down because she has the knowledge that three of her Clan mates are going to die. Do you_ understand, _apprentice?"

"I can't believe that you're crossing the border between the living and the dead to tell me _this_."

"Do you understand your mistake?"

Moonpaw glared at the ground.

"Do not be stubborn," he said calmly. "You do not gain anything from it."

Moonpaw decided to continue being stubborn.

"I know you were shocked by what I said, but you made a mistake by telling it to Paleflower. Do you understand that mistake?"

Well, of course she did! It was obvious.

"Answer me."

"Yes, Jumpfoot. I get it."

"And you're sorry?"

The silver tabby gritted her teeth. "Yes, I'm sorry." It was the truth; she honestly was sorry. But she didn't feel very sorry.

"Good." The spirit turned away. "And remember everything I said at the half-moon. You need it."

Moonpaw stared after the path he took. Remember everything? She had been kind of caught up with the "you're going to die" thing, but Jumpfoot _had_ said more. Let's see... he said that Moonpaw would have an opportunity to make some kind of choice, to "do something" about her name. In fact, he had said that she would have to do it after the battle. And he had told her that... that...

_"Apprentice, you must learn from other's mistakes. And you must learn from their successes. Then you will make your choice correctly."_

That was it.

But whose mistakes?

Twigpelt's accusation that she was abandoning her Clan rang in Moonpaw's ears. And yet he had done the same thing. Was Jumpfoot talking about him? It made sense.

"I'll find out the whole story about Twigpelt," Moonpaw declared. "Even if it takes moons and moons."

She gave one final pat to the soil that she covered the dead mouse with and strode off, sniffing the air for more prey.

Suddenly, a cat's shriek cut through the air. _Not another battle with RiverClan!_ But no more battle cries sounded. Moonpaw pricked her ears, heart beating wildly. The silence was eerie - there were no sounds of a the rage of battle.

Then why did it sound like some cat had just been hurt... or killed?


	31. Chapter Thirty

_Not another battle with RiverClan. Oh, for the love of StarClan, not _another_ battle!_

Maybe she should switch to a stealth crouch, just to be safe. Of course, no cat wouldn't dare to kill a medicine cat... But on the other paw, this was RiverClan - the same ones who tried to lead some foxes to ravage the SkyClan battle line. Moonpaw crouched down and began creeping carefully through the undergrowth. She heard angry, bickering meows. Moonpaw angled her ears toward the noise. There. The voices grew distinct - cats talking, hidden in a thicket.

Moonpaw crouched down by the edge of the bush to listen.

"Honestly!" That was Gorsepelt's voice. "Briarpaw, you know you aren't to yowl out like that!"

"I know, I know!" the apprentice said. "All of you scolded me quite enough, I think! Brighteyes hurt me, and I wasn't exactly expecting it - this was _supposed _to be _gentle_ sparring!"

Moonpaw heard Brighteyes sigh. "It was an accident, you know that. But with the racket you made, I wouldn't be surprised if some cat wandering through the woods heard you and thought that some cat had been injured - or killed."

Moonpaw swallowed uncomfortably.

"Can we get on with battle practice?" Briarpaw asked.

"Really, everyone," Branchtail said, "as my apprentice, I know Briarpaw is something like competent, but she's just an apprentice. Should she really be a member of our group?"

"Now Branchtail," Brighteyes said, "you're about to go to the nursery permanently, and you can't very well stay here in that case. We need as many cats as possible if we hope to stop RiverClan."

"I can do this, Branchtail!" Briarpaw mewed. "Really truly! How do you expect to be able to launch an attack on RiverClan with only Gorsepelt, Brighteyes, Rainbreeze, and Whitetooth?"

"The apprentice is right," Gorsepelt said reluctantly.

"Good," Brighteyes said. "Now _please - _we have a battle to plan."

A battle? Oh, please, not a battle. If these cats were trying to start a war, then Moonpaw had to stop them somehow.

"When we attack," Gorsepelt said, "we should strike swiftly. Since we have a disadvantage in number, we have to use our superior speed compared to those fish-faces."

"True," Branchtail said. "Though, we must be honest with ourselves. Even with our speed, do we have enough cats?"

"_I _know!" Briarpaw chirped. Moonpaw could hear the crunching of leaves as the tortoiseshell cat jumped up and down. "I know where we can get another cat! Moonpaw can join us!"

Moonpaw's stomach flipped over. _Sorry, Briarpaw - I am _not_ going to join a group that's trying to start a battle. Never!_

"Moonpaw?" Brighteyes meowed. "She's a medicine cat."

"Yeah, but she's a really good fighter! And it would be great to have a healer. Can she join? Please?"

"I _meant_," Brighteyes said, "that since she's a medicine cat, she would refuse. Medicine cats hardly launch attacks behind their leader's back; they're supposed to stay out of Clan conflicts whenever possible."

"She would say yes! She _loves_ stuff like this!"

Loved.

"You can ask if you want-" Branchtail started.

"Yay!"

"-_if_ you know for sure that she won't turn us in. If Brackenstar refuses to defend his Clan, then we have a duty to - but Moonpaw might not see it that way."

Turn them in. That was what Moonpaw had to do.

Moonpaw pointed herself back to camp. She _had_ to stop this fight.

* * *

_I'm sorry that took so long. It's becoming apparent that I need to change something about my process, so from now on, I am allowing myself to write badly. So in other words, I'll update more frequently but the quality will be worse. And then, when I'm all done, I will go back and edit the entire thing into perfection. So... the next chapters will be bad. Real bad. But don't think that means that I'm giving up - I promise, I _will_ fix it. Maybe this write-badly-then-fix-it thing will work for me. _

_And we have passed the 100 review mark. Wow! Thank you all very, very, very much - and I'll try to be the kind of author who deserves 100 reviews. (i.e., the kind of author who actually updates.) Thank you again! _:D


	32. Chapter Thirty-one

_Alright, I need to clarify what I said in the last chapter... I was overstating how bad these next chapters will be. In all honesty, I don't think that their quality will decrease much at all. They might, however, be shorter. _

_This chapter, for example, isn't as long as it would be in a perfect world. Oh, well. Enjoy!_

* * *

Moonpaw, her heart still racing, pushed through the foliage into SkyClan camp, her mouse and a starling clenched between her teeth. She still didn't quite know how she had managed to catch the starling, what with her nerves so deeply rattled. But however she did it, the apprentice was glad she did. The Clan needed food desperately.

"Hi, Moonpaw," Thrushpaw said. The tabby could tell by his tone that he was trying extra hard to be polite. "Are you hungry? My mentor took me for a quick hunting trip, and I got a vole. It's nice and plump."

Moonpaw flicked her tail and set down her prey to speak. "No, thanks. Go ahead and give it to the elders." She was shocked by how calm she sounded. She was very frazzled - one would think that she would act grumpier than ever.

Maybe it was StarClan speaking to her or maybe she was being silly, but Moonpaw felt sure that this anti-RiverClan group would start the battle that she was destined to be killed during.

The silver apprentice looked around for the fresh-kill pile. It wasn't in its usual place. She supposed that it nobody had started it yet. Shrugging, she placed the pieces of prey where the fresh-kill pile was _supposed _to be.

And now... to report Branchtail and Brighteye's little group. Moonpaw swallowed. They had said that _Rainbreeze _was in on the plan. And he was, you know, kind of the Clan deputy. But Moonpaw was more worried about Briarpaw than she was about him - surely, if she told, it would get out that she was the informer.

Briarpaw would be appalled with the medicine cat's apprentice.

Still... what could Moonpaw do about that? She needed to stop them; they were breaking the warrior code.

Except that the warrior code demanded that all warriors be loyal to their Clan above all else... but how could that count here? The rebels were going against their leader.

"Moonpaw."

Moonpaw looked up to see Twigpelt scowling at her from across camp. The silver apprentice swallowed and padded over to him.

"You left without my permission."

"We were all out of food."

Twigpelt snorted. "If you thought you had very good reason to leave, why didn't you just ask me?"

Moonpaw couldn't think of anything to say to that, so she said nothing on the subject. "While I was gone, I saw something weird."

Twigpelt turned back to his den, but flicked his tail to signify Moonpaw was to follow. "Was it an omen?"

"No, not that kind of weird."

The brown tom let out a hiss. "Let me venture a guess. Signs that RiverClan was hunting on our territory?"

Moonpaw blinked. "Why d'you think-?"

"It was a dream from StarClan." Twigpelt ducked into his den, Moonpaw trailing after. "RiverClan will drain life from our Clan for as long as we let them." The brown tom pulled a couple different herbs from the stone shelf and began gently shredding them with his claws. After a moment, he picked up some more dried herbs and set them on a large leaf. He pushed it towards Moonpaw. "Make them into a powder. Scareye and Mothstep are back to sleeping in the elders' den instead of here, but they still need medicine. I've found that they find the herbs easier to take if the leaves aren't whole."

Moonpaw drew the leaves closer to herself and began tearing them. Twigpelt was acting so calm. She would've thought that he would have been quite cross with her - she _had_ accused him of murder the day before, after all - but although he seemed grumpier than normal, he hadn't scolded her very badly or given her any nasty chores or anything like that. It was odd...

"Moonpaw, you're supposed to be shredding the lavender, not the dock leaf it's sitting on!"

"Oh. Sorry," Moonpaw mumbled. "About the weird thing I saw-"

But at the exact same moment Moonpaw started to say this, Twigpelt also began to speak.

"You know how you mentioned a minute ago that we were all out of food?"

Moonpaw nodded.

"That's because of RiverClan. When they don't steal a piece of prey, they scare it off with their invations. If they aren't stopped, I am convinced that we will lose someone - probably not directly from hunger, but because they were too weak to fight another form of death."

The fur on the back of Moonpaw's neck rose. "Did StarClan tell you that?"

Twigpelt didn't say anything in response. He merely raised his head and looked Moonpaw in the eye. His gaze was one of ice and storm.

There was silence for a moment.

"So, Moonpaw. _Was_ that what you saw? Did RiverClan invade?"

Moonpaw stared at the ground. If Twigpelt was so convinced that RiverClan needed to be stopped... would he even care about the rebels' plan to take matters into their own paws?

Moonpaw focused her eyes back down at the herbs. "After what I saw... I agree with you. RiverClan will kill one of us."


	33. Chapter Thirty-two

"Here you go," Moonpaw said. She pushed the bundle of herbs to Scareye and Mothstep.

Scareye eyed the medicine warily. "I don't see how those foul things could do me any good. In all my moons I've gulped down more doses of medicine cat's leaves than I can remember, but I never felt any better for it."

Mothstep drew the herbs towards herself. "Don't pay him any heed, dear. The sickness is making him grumpy."

Moonpaw flicked her tail dismissively. When one is doomed to die young, grumpy elders matter less. All Moonpaw cared about at the moment was getting a chance to talk to Brackenstar about what she had seen earlier that day. Twigpelt had ordered her to bring the elders their herbs and then go out and look for chervil root. She would probably get a chance to tell her news on the way out of camp; the leader's den was nearby the exit. Then something occurred to her. The two elders most certainly were both alive when Mistblossom and Twigpelt had their falling out. "I have a question."

Scareye grunted. "My joints are fine, my cough hasn't gotten any worse, and my headache would prefer to be left alone, thank you very much. Just don't give me any more of that awful medicine!"

Moonpaw's whiskers twitched. "It's not about herbs."

Scareye blinked. "Well then, ask as much as you want."

Moonpaw shuffled her paws uneasily. "Well... This might sound weird, but I think it's important because of... something StarClan told me." That was the convenient thing about Jumpfoot's words - Moonpaw doubted that either of the cats would deny her information that _StarClan _asked her to get.

Mothstep pricked her ears. "Go on."

"I guess maybe you wouldn't happen to remember... I mean, I heard that Twigpelt and my mother used to... get along?" She glanced tentatively at the elderly cats.

"That's not a question," Scareye said.

Moonpaw exhaled roughly through gritted teeth. "I meant, what do you remember about when they were young? Is it true that they...?"

"Actually tolerated each other?" Mothstep said. "Yes. When Twigpelt was an apprentice and Mistblossom a kit, they got on fine. You wouldn't know it now, though."

Moonpaw wondered what she had hoped to gain from this conversation. Sure, it seemed like an awful coincidence that three cats who were so greatly connected would all die on the same day, and Jumpfoot's message did seem to indicate that Moonpaw should try to learn about Mistblossom and Twigpelt, but Moonpaw wasn't finding out anything she didn't already know. "Do you remember when they... stopped liking each other?"

The elders shifted uncomfortably. Mothstep swallowed. "Well... Mistblossom's mother had just died, as did Twigpelt's mentor. It was a very hard time for both of them, and of course they were very... er... sore. Two sore cats don't interact well."

Moonpaw sighed. She felt like loudly declaring that she already knew how Twigpelt abandoned the Clan, so there was no point in dodging around it. But she bit her tongue. "Are you sure they didn't fight over something more... specific?"

Scareye and Mothstep exchanged a glance. "Did you say that _StarClan_...?" Mothstep trailed off.

"Yes."

"Well... fine. No one likes talking about it, but Twigpelt..."

"...got depressed after his mentor died, was sloppy with his work, accidentally killed off Honeyfur, and then fled to no Clan's land?"

The two cats stared at her. Scareye shook his head with dismay. "How in StarClan's land did you figure out all that?"

Moonpaw shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I was wondering if there was anything else to their story."

Scareye snorted. "Wouldn't you think all that would be enough?"

Moonpaw closed her eyes for a moment. "Maybe not. Is there anything...?"

Mothstep sighed. "I'm afraid I wouldn't know. I was a young warrior back then, and those were hard times - the stronger ones, like the two of us, were _always_ kept busy hunting and patrolling. I liked kits, but I didn't have much time to visit the nursery that leafbare. I have a few memories of seeing Twigpelt and Mistblossom together, but nothing significant."

"Could you tell me _anything _about their relationship? Even little stuff? Like, what did they do together, did they ever quarrel, how long were they friends?"

"Desperate, are you?" Scareye mumbled.

"I'm very sorry, dear," Mothstep said. "I don't remember seeing them fight before Mintleaf died, and I have no idea when they started talking with each other. And they only seemed to do normal things for young cats. They chatted and sometimes worked together replacing bedding. Once I saw Twigpaw teaching Mistkit something or another he had just learned about binding injured tails. Nothing notable, really."

Moonpaw sighed. "Oh, well. It probably doesn't matter. Thank you very much for helping me." She stretched her back. "I'd better get going; Twigpelt will be after my pelt if I don't start looking for some roots he wants."

"See you," Scareye said.

Mothstep nodded. "Goodbye, dear. And I do hope you find out what you need!"

* * *

Moonpaw stopped outside Brackenstar's den and sniffed. Blast! His scent was stale.

"Are you looking for Brackenstar?" Lilypelt padded up to her.

Moonpaw gritted her teeth. "No, I'm _obviously_ looking for Flamekit and Barkkit. I thought they were appointed as the forest's first joint leaders."

Lilypelt rolled her eyes. "Rainbreeze had him join a hunting party with Whitetooth, Mistblossom, Berrydapple, and Crimsonpelt. He probably won't be back for a couple of hours."

Moonpaw unsheathed her claws and scraped at the ground. "Mousedung!"

"Sorry. What did you want to ask him about?"

Moonpaw shrugged. "Forget it. Thanks for telling me where he is."

The thick-pelted silver she-cat flicked her tail. "No problem!"

"Well, I have to go look for some herbs. Bye." Moonpaw padded out of camp.

Who knew, maybe she would happen to stumble on Brackenstar's hunting party. Not that she would be able to talk to him about it then, as Whitetooth, a member of the rebellion, was with him. The tabby apprentice sighed and stared sniffing around for chervil. She knew that there was a patch of it not too far away.

Suddenly she felt a furry paw jab her side. She jumped into the air, hissing.

"Hey, cool it!" Briarpaw bounced into view. "It's just me!"

Moonpaw relaxed. "Oh. Hi, Briarpaw."

"Good thing I saw you!" the tortoishell chirped. "I have a really important question to ask."

Moonpaw's stomach lurched. Briarpaw was about to ask her to join the rebellion. But if Briarpaw asked before Moonpaw informed Brackenstar about the uprising, then all of the group's members would assume that it was Briarpaw's fault that Moonpaw knew - and considering that Briarpaw's _mentor_ was a member of said group, that would _not_ be good.

The medicine cat's apprentice _had_ to find a way to avoid hearing Briarpaw's question.


	34. Chapter Thirty-three

Moonpaw swallowed. "Um... this really really really isn't a good time."

Briarpaw flicked her tail dismissivly. "Just let me tell you what it is, so you can consider it."

"No time, sorry."

The tortoiseshell scowled. "Why, what are you doing?"

"Looking for chervil root."

"Then I'll help you."

"Er... no thanks. Shouldn't you be, um, with your mentor?"

"Branchtail's fine with me talking with you. Trust me."

Well, this was going terribly. "Look, I'm really, really sorry, but I can't talk to you right now."

Briarpaw rolled her eyes. "What, are you trying to secretly meet a tom? I hope not; that would be _so_ clichéd."

"Briarpaw!" Moonpaw lashed her tail. "Of course not!"

"Then why won't you sit still for a moment and listen to me, unless you're hiding something?"

Moonpaw gritted her teeth. Was protecting Briarpaw really worth all this effort? "Can't _you_ just trust _me_? Please?"

"Um... nope, I can't." The apprentice grinned. "Look, Branchtail and Brighteyes had this _really_ awesome idea."

Oh, dear. Moonpaw opened her mouth to interrupt, but Briarpaw spoke before she could.

"They started this group-" The she-cat stopped, pricking her ears.

Moonpaw listened, too. "Someone's coming."

Briarpaw lowered her voice. "Anyways, I'm a member. Of the group, I mean."

As Briarpaw spoke, Moonpaw edged towards the unknown cat - or cats. If she could attract that cat's attention, Briarpaw would have to stop, since the group was supposed to be a secret.

"Gorsepelt's in it, too. And the deputy!"

"Rainbreeze?" Moonpaw said, just to slow things down.

"Well, duh! He's the deputy, isn't he?"

"Yes, I suppose he is." Moonpaw wildly searched her mind for a way to extend her comment. She settled for repetition. "Yes, he is. For now."

" 'For now'? What d'you mean, 'for now'? Are you planning to assassinate him?"

"No, of course not!"

"Then why'd you say, 'for now'?"

_You see, Briarpaw, I said it because it adds two words. _It was a stupid, random thing to say, but it was doing rather well in stretching things out. "Because he won't live forever."

"You're weird."

"Mm." _How do I get that cat to come here without making it obvious that that's what I'm doing?_

"Okay, so where was I?"

_Well, what's something that would make any cat come?_

"Oh, yeah, the group. Well, you know how RiverClan's been invading a lot?"

"Yeah." _Think, think, think! _

"So we need to stop them, right?"

"Uh..." Then, Moonpaw had it. She jumped in the air with fake surprise. "_Mrrrow!_ Is that a fox?"

Briarpaw yowled nice and loudly, then whirled around to see. "Where?"

"Over there!" She jabbed her paw towards a bush several fox-lengths away. Was she being loud enough? Briarpaw sniffed the air. "I don't smell anything."

_Come on, mystery cat! There might be a fox at large! Come already!_

"I thought I saw a bit of red fur."

Briarpaw stalked towards the bush, sniffing. "I still don't smell it. Are you sure?"

"I was."

The tortoiseshell started bounding to the shrub.

"Don't go over to it! What if-"

"Oh, be quiet. I won't get killed." The perky apprentice reached the base of the plant and sniffed it throughly. "Nothing. You must have been seeing things."

Mousedung! The other cat didn't show. "Do you think we ought to leave anyways, just to be sure?"

"Oh, quit it. You're a great fighter; even if a fox _did _show up, you could take it. Anyways, Branchtail thinks that RiverClan has tormented us long enough. They keep on taking prey, 'cause we're not doing anything to stop them."

_No! _Moonpaw tried to think of somehthing to stop her. Okay, she would just have to insist on leaving. She opened her mouth. "Briar-"

"So our group is going to launch our _own _attack, and make sure that RiverClan leaves us alone."

_Foxdung! Foxdung, foxdung, _foxdung!

Oblivious to Moonpaw's displeasure, Briarpaw cheerfully rambled on. "Once we stop RiverClan, we'll have a lot more food. Brackenstar probably won't even punish us. So! Do you want to join?"

Moonpaw flattened her ears against her head. _No, I don't want to join a group which is going to start the battle that will kill me. Thanks for offering. _"I..."

"What in the name of StarClan are you talking about?" Mistblossom gasped. She and Twigpelt, both looking accusitory, emerged from the undergrowth.

Whoops. It looked like Moonpaw _had _attracted the attention of the unknown cats.


	35. Chapter Thirty-four

"What in the name of StarClan are you talking about?" Mistblossom gasped.

Oh, no.

"The weather," Briarpaw said.

"My goodness," Twigpelt said flatly, "your lying skills blow me away."

The apprentice purred. "Thanks. I've been working on them."

Twigpelt stared at her, blinking, for a minute. Then he turned to Moonpaw. "Care to explain?"

Moonpaw swallowed, heart racing. "It's not my fault."

"Why thank you, Silver. That's _exactly_ the question I wanted you to answer."

Moonpaw stomped her paw. "Oh, quit it with this 'Silver' stuff already! My name is _Moonpaw!_"

"Well, _Silver_, that was a wonderful way to avoid answering my question. Now, what were you and Briarpaw discussing?"

"Let me explain," Briarpaw said.

Twigpelt opened his mouth, probably to object, but Mistblossom cut him off. "Please do, Briarpaw."

"Um... I guess you already heard most of what we were talking about, so... Branchtail is starting a group to attack RiverClan. So they'll stop stealing our prey." Briarpaw ducked her head, then glanced at Moonpaw. "Don't punish Moonpaw, though. I was just telling her about it; she doesn't have anything to do with it."

Twigpelt's harsh gaze shifted between the two apprentices.

"Hey," Briarpaw added brightly, "wouldn't you think that stopping RiverClan would be a good thing? I mean, they need to be stopped. Why shouldn't we do it?"

Twigpelt nodded curtly. "It's not the idea I take issue with, are dismissed."

Briarpaw bounced happily into the air. "_Yes!_ Thanks, Twigpelt!"

"_However_," Twigpelt said, "I _do_ take issue with _you_, Silver. I clearly told you to look for chervil roots."

Moonpaw jerked. "B-but I _was_! I even told Briarpaw not to bother me!"

Briarpaw stopped bouncing. "That's right! She did!"

Twigpelt glared at the tortoiseshell. "We have already established that you are a liar. Silver-"

Mistblossom's fur ruffled. "Twigpelt! Moonpaw did not do a single thing wrong!"

Twigpelt twitched his tail irritably. "It's really none of your buisiness. Briarpaw, you may leave."

"Wait!" Moonpaw said. "You really don't care that... that some cats want to launch an attack on another Clan without permission?"

Twigpelt sighed. "Silver, I do not yet know what I'm going to do about this. Still, our Clan needs to eat. If Brackenstar won't defend that right, someone else needs to. The warrior code demands that all cats do what is best for the Clan-"

Mistblossom flexed her claws. "Not that _you_ would know anything about that, Twigpelt."

"Mother," Moonpaw said, "do _you_ think that Briarpaw's group is okay?"

Mistblossom looked up at the sky. "Well... I think it is very likely to go very wrong. But I cannot tolerate RiverClan's theivery."

"But-" Moonpaw started.

"Moonpaw!" Briarpaw said. "Do you _want_ me to get into trouble?"

"No, but..." Moonpaw turned to Twigpelt. "I think this battle they're planning might be _the_ battle."

Twigpelt blinked. "What battle?"

"You know! The battle I was telling you about? The _really important_ battle that means a lot to _certain cats present?"_"

Twigpelt glared at her. "I am absolutely sure that I have _no idea_ what you are talking about. Let us _not talk about __it_ right now.

"What?" Brairpaw said. "Was there some kind of prophecy about us?"

"No!" Twigpelt said. "And if there _was,_ then it would be something that medicine cats _aren't supposed to talk about around other cats._"

Brairpaw nodded. "Yeah, there's definately a prophecy."

"Twigpelt, we need to stop this battle from happening!" Moonpaw said.

"Sil_ver_!" Twigpelt raked the ground with his claws. "Please go somewhere very far away. _Now_."

"Enough, Twigpelt!" Mistblossom hissed. "She's not doing anything wrong!"

Twigpelt's fur ruffled and his muscles tensed. "I _think_ this is a _medicine cat_ thing."

"Sheath your claws!" Mistblossom arched her back. "Don't think you're going to attack me and _win_."

Twigpelt snorted. "You're not exactly the most gifted cat around when it comes to fighting, you know."

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" Briarpaw chanted.

"You go away too!" Twigpelt snapped.

Briarpaw impishly grinned.

"You're not employing terribly good tactics in avoiding getting in trouble," Moonpaw said.

Briarpaw flicked her tail dismissively.

"Look, everyone," Moonpaw said, "we're just fighting. Let's all simply forget this."

"_Forget_ it?" Twigpelt shook his head. "Forgetting a thing like this would be absurd. This is something we have to deal with."

Moonpaw felt a glimmer of hope. "You mean the battle shouldn't happen?"

"I don't know about it, Silver. I only ever _heard_ of it a few minutes ago!"

"But if it's _the_ battle-"

"Silver!" Twigpelt's eyes flashed. "Since you have become my apprentice, you have shown absolutely_ no_ common sense and tact regarding your duties as a medicine cat. Especially in the most hallowed and secret areas. You might possibly be the _densest _cat I have ever met. As a matter of fact - and I am _quite_ serious about this - you might possibly become the first cat in SkyClan to be kicked out as a medicine cat."

Moonpaw looked into his eyes and could tell that he was _not_ joking.


End file.
